Persona: World And Judgement
by The-Final-Fidelity
Summary: Taking an all new kind of case into their own hands, the Investigation Team and S.E.E.S work in unity to find the missing body of Minato Arisato. A great mystery lies in the return of the Midnight Channel and the Dark Hour, revealing an all-new twist to lay desires bare; all caused by two hooded tricksters who now enter the scene. Both with inhumane minds, but without conscience.
1. Departure

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter One_

_Departure_

**Guys, it gives me the GREATEST of pleasure to welcome you to the new story! I hope you are excited for what's to come. If any of you are wondering if I am doing a poll very soon, I'm not. The reason is, I haven't got an idea for a question. But oh well, on with the new story! Please know that you must read Persona: His Sapphire Eyes and Persona: Spirits In Pixels before reading this, or else you will be CONFUZZLED! But anyway, GET READY...LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0802 - Morning_

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><p>The skies were smothered with the thick blackness of the morning sky, crying its puddles and rivers on the roads and pavements of Inaba. The sun struggled to find any cracks in the sky, continuing its search to find a way to end the dreary weather. The heavy downpour battered the earth with its needles of aqua, and the puddles kept widening and spreading.<p>

Yu, along with the rest of his company, were sat on the bus on their way to the train station, listening to the uncomfortable silence and the pattering of the rain on the windows. They all minded their own business, either listening to their own music or trying to get some needed sleep because of the early times that they all had to wake up to.

Yu was sat next to the window, leaning his head against it and looking down at his hand that carried the cell phone strap with the mysterious letters 'YT' written into it. He casted his mind back to his last meeting with that strange boy, echoing his words throughout his subconscious, _"Let them know."_

_"What does he mean by that?"_ Yu thought to himself, trying to gain some sense in the boy's actions, only confusing himself more with every possible explanation thought of.

"Yu?" Rise's voice interrupted his thinking, widening his eyes in realisation and turning towards her, seeing the exhausted look on her face that matched his. "Hmm?" he hummed in reply, "Rise?"

"Are you okay?" she asked him politely, "You seem kinda out of it today..." The slight worry in her voice earned her an arm around her waist from Yu, bringing her closer to him. He rubbed her side slowly. "Everything's okay...I've just been thinking a lot lately." he reassured her.

"About what?" she asks again. Yu knew that she couldn't tell his actual thoughts to her. He knew that she wouldn't believe him. "If we..." he began in hesitation, "If we all can get back to Inaba in one piece." As Rise listened, her thoughts mimicked his.

"I know that we're going to Iwatodai to find out where Minato's body went...but..." he took another pause before continuing with a tidbit of his actual thoughts, "...I don't think it'll be that easy either..." Rise's head slowly turned towards him in response to his opinion. He continued. "I just hope no one gets hurt...it'll be my fault if anyone does." Yu could only lower his head at the thought of it, but Rise used a hand to lift his chin up and bring it closer to her face.

"Don't worry," Rise reassured Yu with a meaningful tone, "no one will get hurt. Me and you will never let it happen, okay?" she asks him, seeing a small smile curve the corners of his lips.

"I'd be lost without you." he said softly, making Rise's blushes return to her face, but she didn't hide them from him. Upon hearing those words and hearing them again in her head, she brings him closer into a passionate kiss, ignoring the dull scene around them.

But they were then interrupted by a shout from behind them. Before they turned around to see who it was, they already knew, along with everyone else, that it was Yosuke. "Stop that!" he yelled at Chie who was innocently sitting next to him at the back.

"Aww man! I just got to sleep! Thanks a lot Senpai!" Kanji shouted from the seat opposite Rise's. Yosuke then turned to him with a slightly disgusted face. "Why are you shouting at me? She drooled on me again!" he yelled to him, but quieter than he did with Chie.

Yukiko, who sat in the seat behind Kanji, couldn't help but laugh at Yosuke's reaction, holding her stomach in her fit. "Y-Yosuke! Tha-That was such an ov-overeation! Ha ha ha!" she chuckled and giggled. Teddie, who sat next to Yosuke, also joined in with Yukiko's laughter, uncontrollable rolling around the seat, and sometimes rolling on Yosuke.

"Kanji..." Naoto said in a slight moan as she awoke next to Kanji, "Why do you have to be so loud?" Hearing her question, Kanji scratches the back of his head. "Oh, er...whoops." he forced with a little chuckle.

Even though Yosuke started his argument with her, Chie didn't respond at all, only to move away from her seat next to him and sat on the seat next to Yukiko. Instead of giving him an evil stare, she gave him eyes of apology and then turned away from him to the rain smothered window. She didn't even look at the expression of surprise that appeared on Yosuke's face.

"Huh?" Yosuke asked with all irritation drained from his being, "You're not gonna argue with me? It's usually either one of us starts the argument, and the other has to respond..."

"I've had enough of arguing, Yosuke." she bluntly said, but with meaning in her tone. Yosuke's eyelids flickered twice at the drastic change that Chie underwent. "Well...if that's what you want..." he said to her with his own apologetic expression. After this, everyone was finally quiet. And soon enough, everyone was back to minding their own business.

"Hey, Yu." Yosuke broke the silence to call for Yu. Yu turned his head towards him. "Yeah?" he replied. "I don't know if this will worry you or not...well, it's worrying me a bit...but if you're here and your uncle's in Iwatodai, is Nanako gonna be left at home?" Yosuke asked, hoping that Yu has a good answer.

Fortunately, he did. "Ryotaro decided that he was going to come home to Nanako today so that wouldn't happen to her. So don't worry, she'll be fine." he answered in reassurance, hearing the sigh of relief from him and a few others who wanted to ask.

"Ah that's good. Oh! I just remembered another question!" Yosuke slightly shouted as another question sprung to mind, "Did you bring any money?" Yu's look showed a smile with a humming chuckle as the figure came into his head.

"One-hundred-thousand yen." Yu said as if it wasn't much, but Yosuke's expressions showed shock and became gobsmacked at the large figure. "What?" Yosuke shouted loud enough for the bus driver to hear, "You brought that much? I don't even get paid that in a month!" After Yosuke's state of shock, he laid back down in his chair, lightheaded and exhausted from his outburst and not saying another word.

A pause filled the bus with silence for a long few minutes.

"Poor Chie..." Rise said with sympathy as she looked behind her to see her moping expression. "She'll be okay," Yu reassured her, "Yosuke just doesn't know yet." he then said in a whisper, turning Rise's head back to him. "What do you mean?" she asked at the same volume.

"Remember when Chie kissed Yosuke to get him out of a trance that Mitsuru's Shadow put him in?" Yu asked, getting a confident nod as an answer, "Well, simply put...Chie's in love." Rise could only smile at Chie's hidden affection for Yosuke and put a hand over her mouth to stop the giggles from escaping. "That's so cute!" she shouted in a whisper.

A long hour passed before everyone, except for Yu, was asleep. Yu, however, still fixated his thoughts on the strange cell phone strap. That long hour was spent pondering on what that item was significant for. But after another while, Yu's deep thinking caused a headache to erupt in his mind with the pain surging with every bump made on the bus.

As he watched Rise asleep in his arms, he couldn't help but do the same, laying his head on hers and slowly dropping his eyelids into a slow journey into his subconscious, ignoring all noise around him. But then, that feeling of hovering returned to his body and later, he gradually fell and landed softly of a familiar soft texture.

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><p><em>0802 - Morning - The Velvet Room_

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><p>He opened his eyes and took in the masses of colours of navy, blue and purple and only fixated his eyes on the two figures sitting opposite him. Igor and Margaret looked up with interest in their eyes as they looked towards Yu.<p>

"So glad you could visit," Igor spoke with his unchanging gentleman's accent, "we have much to discuss." Yu leaned forward in his seat with intent ears, preparing himself to take in any information that would be given.

"It seems that you have completed your first 'turning point'. A one which took you through familiar excursions and is now leading you to a different truth." Igor spoke with his crooked smile, watching Yu's expression change from serious to deep thought, lowering his head as he did this.

He recollected his ideas and then pieced them all together before shooting his head back up with a look of realisation. "You mean...the Midnight Channel. That was the thing that was familiar?" Yu asked, "And...it lead me to Iwatodai?"

Igor and Margaret widened their eyes in awe at Yu's intellect. "Impressive," Margaret commented with a friendly smile, "but now we must tell you of a new 'turning point' that you must follow." Yu was keen to know, nodding in anxiety and impatience.

As Igor did before, with a wave of his wrist, the complete set of tarot cards appeared before him on the velvet table spread out. And with another wave, the cards rearranged themselves face down, rushing under and over each other until they eventually stopped with a steady hand from Igor in a neat order.

Igor then faced two random cards upwards and observed them carefully, quickly coming to a conclusion after taking just a small glance of the cards. He hummed in interest.

"Fascinating..." Igor spoke with his crooked smile growing wider. "What is it?" Yu spoke, somewhat desperate to know what the next turning point was. Igor looked back up at him and cleared his throat before continuing further.

"The image is vague. But the key points are clear..." he began with his wise tone, collecting his words and sentences, "Everyone you know, and every bond you have achieved with them all...only one of them is the bond beyond all others." Upon hearing this, Yu began to think which one had this bond with him.

"That bond will be your aid. With one another, you will have the strength of a sustaining miracle. A wonder if you will..." Yu came out of his deep thought, still wondering about who that person might be. "So...I know this person...then that shouldn't be a problem." he replied with confidence.

"Ah, but this is the tricky part..." Igor said to Yu as if it was from instructions from a board game, "you may know them now, but your bond with them is still yet to blossom." By this, Yu's confidence was shattered.

"This is your next goal," Margaret spoke of Yu's next objective, "find this person and strengthen this bond. You will both surely need each other when the time comes." Whist saying this, Margaret gave a confident smile to him, but Yu had the lingering thought of that battle stuck in his mind. "You mean...The Coming?" he asked, only to know the answer when Margaret's smile faded away.

"Now then, we shouldn't let you stay here long," Igor began his farewell, "please, do return of your own accord. So, until we meet...farewell."

And with that, Yu's drowsiness returned to his body and his eyelids were shut closed by the force of Igor's words. The hovering sensation picked up his body from the velvety furniture and carried him into the deep depths of his subconscious finding the way out, back into reality.

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><p><em>0802 - Midday - The Real World_

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><p>After a long while, his tired eyes finally opened, awakening him back into the dreary weather of the real world. He rolled his eyes to one side to see that Rise was still in a deep sleep, laying comfortably on his shoulder. He couldn't help but smile at her beautiful face as she slept.<p>

Through the rain-stained window, Yu could just see some buildings which he were quite familiar with. These were the first buildings that Yu had come across when he first entered Inaba. And from those structures, he knew that the train station was close.

"Nearly there..." Yu said exhaustingly to himself, laying back in his seat for the rest of the way. But what he couldn't shake was the last words Margaret had said to him before coming out of his sleep. _"When the time comes."_

**I AM SO SORRY GUYS that I missed the deadline for this chapter. College work again, and I had to redo the chapter because my last idea was absolute rubbish! So I hope you've enjoyed the first (unusually short) chapter of the story, and I hope you will look forward to the next chapter! CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Junpei: Oh c'mon Senpai! It's like... 10pm! I've been awake all day!_

_Mitsuru: Fuuka, Aigis. Is she going to come down?_

_Fuuka: She told us that she won't be joining us this evening..._

_Aigis: It's been two years since he... left us._

_Mitsuru: I'm glad that you all could come on such short notice._

_Yu: Thank you for having us._


	2. Arrival

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Two_

_Arrival_

**Hey guys! Excited for christmas holidays? Because I am! Can't wait for all of this stress to fly out of the window. Anyway, there is not a lot of news to be said, but it may be a good time to say that there will be a quicker change in pace with the chapter updates over the holidays. This isn't official, but let's hope it happens eh? But, without further ado...LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0802 - Afternoon_

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><p>The windows were closed and the doors were locked in every home that everyone inhabited in Iwatodai, protecting themselves from the battering rain that taunted them as it tapped and pattered the windows.<p>

The residents of Tatsumi Hall could only look out of their windows, with glum and bored looks spread out across the lounge. A boy with a dark blue cap was sat on the sofa, boring himself to sleep with a magazine that was laid out on his lap with hands covering the front so no one would see.

"Junpei!" called a voice of an adult, waking up the blue-capped teenager with a snort and a clearing of his throat. He rubbed his dreary eyes before looking towards where the call came from. A red-headed woman stood from a distance with arms folded, looking towards him. "Hm...?" he hummed with a yawn, "Oh hey, Mitsuru-senpai..."

"Any public transport arriving?" she asked him with a husky tone. He could only look at her with a weak smile, dopily at his Senpai. "Ahh...about that..." he started with a forcefully calm voice, "...let's just say counting taxis is like counting sheep..." He gave a nervous chuckle. "Don't worry Mitsuru, I've been checking..." called a young teenager's voice from the nearby window, "...but nothing's turned up yet."

"Thank you, Ken." Mitsuru gave her thanks with a gracious nod of her head. She then looked towards Junpei with a smirk and a shake of her head. Junpei looked at her and sank the back of his head into the cushions of the sofa, looking for an argument.

"Oh c'mon, Senpai!" he raised his voice with an exhausted look, "It's like...10pm! I've been awake all day!" After his outburst of spoken thoughts, Junpei's eyes were quickly closed to try and ignore Mitsuru's face that mocked him. "It's important that we give our visitors, this evening, a proper welcome," Mitsuru spoke her plans to Junpei and Ken, "After all, they would be a great addition to the team for the while."

"I suppose you're right..." Junpei said respectfully. Ken walked away from the window and joined the two. "I just can't wait to see them," Ken spoke with a smile of excitement on his face, "Especially their Personas."

"Yeah, you did say that these guys had Personas..." Junpei said with curiosity in his tone towards Mitsuru, "How did you meet them? Are they locals?" Mitsuru shook her head in response and gave a brief look at Junpei's expression of confusion as he scratched his head after lifting his cap.

"No. In fact, they live further in the countryside, in Yasoinaba." For the first time, Mitsuru watched Junpei think, trying to piece together what she was saying. "Ah. Did you go there yesterday to meet them? Because none of us knew where you were yesterday." Ken asked Mitsuru, showing off his intellect compared to Junpei's.

"Once the guests arrive, we will all talk about it." Mitsuru ended the conversation. At the same time, a girl with short turquoise hair came down from the staircase alongside another young woman who owned robotic mechanisms for limbs.

Along with them came a small white dog, scampering down the stairs and rushing over to Ken. "Hey, Koromaru!" Ken greeted the dog with strokes and pats on the head.

"Fuuka, Aigis," Mitsuru called out their names as they came down to the last step of the stairs, "Is she going to come down?" she asked them with a look of hope. But the hope was false, as they both shook their heads. "Yukari-san said that she was tired..." Aigis answered with a look opposite to Mitsuru's. "She's in bed now, Mitsuru-senpai. She told us that she won't be joining us this evening..." Fuuka added.

Mitsuru gave a solemn nod of her head to the two. "Very well, we will let her rest. Thank you." she said in respect. Junpei could only give a gobsmacked look that expressed, what he supposed, the unfairness in him not being entitled to rest whilst another was.

"Excuse me, Mitsuru-senpai," Ken politely called for Mitsuru, "Is Sanada-san coming over this evening?" Ken's question only made Mitsuru sigh, shaking her head another time. "I'm afraid not...Akihiko's continuing his police induction in Ayanagi and he is unavailable to help us with the investigation." she explained Akihiko's absence with a slightly lowered head.

"I guess it's just us then..." Fuuka pointed out, looking around the room with a slightly weird feeling to see two people less of the team. She then looked towards Aigis, who's head was lowered to the floor.

She stared at the floor with closed eyes in reflection. "I hope Yukari-san is okay..." she spoke quietly, but for everyone to hear clearly. Mitsuru faced her body towards hers. "Is something the matter?" she asked Aigis, despite having a few thoughts of what Yukari might be feeling.

Aigis gave a long pause to collect the images in her head, lifting her head up afterwards. "It's been two years since he...left us," she began, already letting the sad thoughts rise from everyone's minds, "And when Fuuka and I went to see her...she held the same look she had that long ago..." When Aigis finished her sentence, everyone could only exchange looks of empathy.

"She may still be thinking about him..." Mitsuru spoke her thoughts, getting nods in reluctant agreement from across the room. "Yeah, especially when we got told that his body went missing." Junpei sympathised for Yukari with the horrible truth.

The room was silent for a long moment, with everyone listening to the rain that added to the morbid thoughts that ran through everyone's minds. Even Koromaru gave a quiet whine at looks that everyone gave. "Raff!" Koromaru yapped, turning everyone's head towards him.

"He says that 'Yukari is a strong girl'." Aigis translated, giving a smile at the tiny pup's wisdom. The others also gave the same smile, exchanging their thoughts for a more positive side. "You're right Koro-chan," Mitsuru praised him, "And when we find Minato's body, everything will be at peace."

A short while after Mitsuru's positive words, Koromaru's ears pointed towards the front door, scampering and running towards it with a wagging tail. After approaching the door, he stood up on his back legs and placed his front paws on the door in excitement, yapping and barking in glee.

Three knocks were then heard at the door, making Koromaru more excited than the others were. "It's them." Mitsuru stated with a smile, walking towards the door with quick strides. She turned the doorknob and slowly swung the door open, facing her body towards the visitors.

"Yu," Mitsuru spoke one of the guests' names with a smile of gratitude, "I'm glad that you all could come on such short notice." Yu and the others gave their own smiles in return, also excited to meet the rest of her friends.

"Thank you for having us." Yu thanked Mitsuru, as she pulled the door out wider for everyone to step into the hall. "Please, do come in." she said, standing back from the door's opening to let them in. When the last person walked in, Mitsuru slowly shut the doors and locked them tightly.

And with the two teams united, the journey begins here.

**Okay guys, I know that I promised to make this chapter longer...but since it didn't happen, that promise will definitely be kept for the next chapter! Sorry that this one was so short. Technical difficulties has struck again! Anyway, keep reading and reviewing, and keep yourself excited for the next chapter! CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Yosuke: Wait. This dog can possess a Persona?_

_Kanji: I was not in a biker gang..._

_Junpei: Rise... Kujikawa? ... Risette? I think I'm dreaming!_

_Mitsuru: Yu owns the same power Minato had. The power to wield multiple Personas._

_Yukari: How is that...? P-Prove it!_


	3. Introductions

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Three_

_Introductions_

**Hey guys! Sorry for the shortness of the last chapter, but here's a chapter that will make up for all of that. I promise you that this chapter will be longer than the last two chapters! No announcements today, so LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0802 - Afternoon_

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><p>Soaking umbrellas and drenches coats and jackets were hung on multiple coat-hangers next to the front doors, dripping and drying as they left wet patches on the carpet underneath them. The lights in the lounge were shone across the room to illuminate the room from the darkness that was closing in at nighttime, bringing a welcoming sense to the Investigation Team.<p>

Everyone was sat on the sofas and couches, S.E.E.S on one side and the Investigation Team on the other. A slight awkwardness was felt between all of them, and there was a long pause before someone stood up to break the ice. The only person in the room who could do that was Mitsuru.

She sat up with arms folded in a lady-like manner. "I appreciate you all for coming here. Especially on such short notice," she began, getting nods Yu and the company. "Allow me to introduce ourselves."

First, Mitsuru held her arm up at chest height, facing her hand at the ceiling towards Fuuka. "This is Fuuka Yamagishi," she introduced her, letting Fuuka give a bashful wave to the group, "She is the team's support." Mitsuru added her description. She then held her hand towards Ken who was sitting next to Fuuka.

"This is Ken Amada. It may surprise you when I say that he is also a Persona-user." Mitsuru introduced the infant, instantly getting looks of surprise and awe. Nearly all of the group nodded towards Ken in respect.

"Here, is Aigis. She is a mechanism known as an 'Anti-Shadow' weapon, but I assure you, she is very much a human." Mitsuru looked towards the robotic young woman, as did the group. Aigis gave a cute smile to them, and they returned it with smiles of their own.

And as Mitsuru was about to introduce Junpei to the group, they all turned towards him, since he was the last person to be seen in the room. "And this is Junpei Iori." she began his introduction. He looked as if he was staring into space, unaware of what was around him. Mitsuru continued his introduction. "You could say that he is the team clown."

"Huh...? What?" Junpei asked after coming out of his daze after two waking batters of his eyelids. Everyone couldn't help but chuckle and giggle at his unawareness. He could only wonder what everyone was laughing about before shrugging it off and forgetting about it. They were all then interrupted by a barking noise from Mitsuru's feet. Koromaru was sat down on the carpet, facing the Investigation Team with lit eyes and a wagging tail.

"And of course, this is Koromaru," Mitsuru introduced the small dog by her feet, getting raised eyebrows from the group opposite her. She smiled before delivering the surprising blow. "He also wields a Persona." And with those words said, eyes were widened towards the dog. Even Yosuke fell out of his seat for a second time.

"Wait," Yosuke interrupted, holding his hands out to indicate his surprise, "This dog can possess a Persona?" Upon hearing his loud question, the members of S.E.E.S immediately nodded with smiles of amusement and somewhat modesty. "Now, I've fought Shadows inside a TV...but now I've seen everything!" Yosuke said in praise for Koromaru. Junpei could only look at Yosuke's excitement and groan, lowering his head as he slowly fell to sleep.

"I wanted you all to meet two more of our members," Mitsuru spoke, already giving the impression to the others, "but I am afraid they will not be joining us this evening." Every head in the Investigation team was nodded. "That's okay. I hope we get to meet them sometime." Yu reassured himself and the others.

Shortly after, footsteps were heard from halfway down the staircase, turning everyone's heads towards the cause. They all saw a girl whose hair was of a bright brown colour that hung down just above her shoulders. She wore a pink sweater with light blue skinny jeans, but her clothes seemed to have more energy than the look she had on her face.

As she came down the last steps of the staircase, she walked over to the two groups, rubbing her eyes in exhaustion. "Sorry I'm late." she apologised with dreary eyes and a croaky throat to Mitsuru. The Senpai could only smile at the girl. "Yukari," she called the girl by her name, "I'm glad that you came down." Upon hearing her happiness, Yukari gave a small grin back to the Senpai. She then turned to the Investigation Team.

"Hey everyone," she greeted them politely with a small wave, "My name is Yukari Takeba. It's great to see you all...though I wish I was more awake to say it better." To her self-contradiction, Yu gave a smile. "It's good to meet you too...and don't worry about it, we are all tired."

Naoto then jumped into the conversation. "Is there another member you wanted us to meet?" she asked. Mitsuru knew that the question was about to arise, and the answer was ready in the mind. "We were hoping that he would come, but he is currently on a police induction course in Ayanagi City. So he won't be joining us for the duration of your stay." Mitsuru answered, giving a slight hint of her fixation on the thought.

But she then hurried the introductions further, giving a small grin to the others. "Now, I have already met you all, and you already know about the Dark Hour," she began, "But please introduce yourselves to the rest of us." Hearing her request, Yosuke gave a loud clearing of his throat before anyone else could speak. It even woke Junpei up.

"I'll start!" he began loudly, "My name is Yosuke Hanamura. I am, pretty much, one of the originals of the group." The Investigation Team could only give face-palms to Yosuke's modesty.

Before Yosuke could get a chance to say anything else, Chie stepped in. "I'm Chie Satonaka. The one that has to calm him down." she introduced herself, pointing a thumb towards Yosuke with the anger she kept with her from his outburst from the bus journey. Yosuke didn't want to cause a commotion and rolled his eyes. A small regret built up in her.

"I am Yukiko Amagi," Yukiko spoke instantly after Chie, "It's very nice to meet you all." The members of S.E.E.S looked at Yukiko with respect, smiling at her lady-like gestures with politeness.

Naoto then stepped in. "Naoto Shirogane." she began with her low tone, "I am the detective of the group, and I do my best to retain my passion for my role." Naoto folded her arms with her head slightly lowered so that her cap casted a shadow that barely sat above her eyes.

Teddie made his introduction huge by jumping onto Yosuke's back and trying to stand on his shoulders. "I'm Teddie!" he shouted with enthusiasm, falling immediately when Yosuke's legs gave way and collapsed onto the floor. Teddie then slowly, yet seductively, rested his head on the arm of the couch. "But call me...stud." he spoke with his flirty tone, making the Investigation Team sigh with embarrasment, but also making the other group laugh and giggle at Teddie's gestures.

When everyone calmed down, Kanji stood forward. "The name's Kanji Tatsumi." he introduced himself with a friendly manner, but after Junpei raised his hand to ask him a question, he raised an eyebrow. "...And before you ask, I was not in a biker gang." Kanji finished, causing Junpei's hand to lower back to his side with a slightly nervous look.

S.E.E.S then looked towards the beautiful red-headed girl who sat next to Yu, which was Rise. She gave a sweet wave before speaking. "I'm Rise Kujikawa. I'm the-" she began, but only to be interrupted by a surprised and shocked Junpei.

He leaned forward in his chair with excitement. "Wait, who?" he shouted with a building happiness. "Rise...Kujikawa? ...Risette?" he asked again and again, looking as if he was about to explode. Rise gave a slow nod towards the crazed teenager, causing an eruption of happiness and joy to burst out of Junpei, childishly pounding the air and shouting to the ceiling. "Guys. Anyone. Pinch me really hard, because I think I'm dreaming!" he yelled with a big smile on his face.

But then a large cry in pain was heard from him a few seconds, after Yukari pinched him in the ear. "Ow!" Junpei yelled, rubbing his injured ear as he turned towards Yukari, "That wasn't literal!"

"We're in the middle of introductions here, Stupei!" she pointed out to him sternly, only making him slightly angry at the name. "Again with the name?" Junpei retaliated. Yosuke suddenly interrupted.

"There's no bother arguing! She's already got a boyfriend!" Yosuke said to Junpei, turning Junpei's head towards Rise who was then holding hands with entwined fingers with Yu. Junpei looked at Yu with, not a look of envy, but of surprise, putting on a grin. Yukari looked at Rise and her hand that held Yu's, and quickly turned away from it, lowering her head.

"Seriously?" Junpei asked him rhetorically, "Aww man, all I've got to say to is...'Congrats' dude!" Yu smiled to Junpei who gave him a cheesy grin, walking over to him and giving him a high-five.

Fuuka giggled. "Sorry Rise," she apologised to Rise, "Junpei always acts like this when he gets excited." Rise shook her head to Fuuka with a smile. "It's okay, I'm used to it."

"Please, continue." Aigis urged with her robotic lips curling into a smile. Rise cleared her throat before giving the rest of her introduction. "I'm the support of the team, and I also give information to the team." Rise finished, looking towards Fuuka who gave an surprised, yet intrigued look.

After everyone in the Investigation Team, except for Yu had spoken, the members of S.E.E.S had their eyes on Yu, the last to speak. "And I am Yu Narukami. The leader of the team." he briefly said, but Mitsuru knew another thing about him that he hasn't said yet.

"The leader?" Fuuka asked with a look of awe, facing Mitsuru afterwards, "Mitsuru-senpai, does this mean that he will be the one in charge?" As she nodded her head to Fuuka's question, Yu, along with the rest of the Investigation Team and S.E.E.S, were slightly confused, exchanging looks of uncertainty.

Even Yukari wore the same expression. Yu interrupted with an indication of his hand. "Excuse me Mitsuru, but I thought this was only an investigation on the whereabouts of Minato's body..." he spoke, immediately being cut off by Yukari. "Yeah...I mean, is there any need for a leader? We won't be using our Personas, so..."

Mitsuru straightened up her back and collected her thoughts together. "I knew you would ask that..." she said to Yukari, turning her attention to everyone else afterwards, "...and my answer is, that it would be necessary."

"What do you mean?" Yukiko asked on behalf of everyone who held the same question in their heads. Mitsuru gathered her thoughts once more before speaking her reasons. "Well, many rumours have spread across Iwatodai saying that Minato's body was stolen," she began with a slightly low tone, "but personally, I don't think that at all."

Most of them weren't so surprised by Mitsuru's logic, having the same thoughts that she had. She then focussed her words on the Investigation Team. "In fact, when you all told me about this Midnight Channel, it proved my previous views wrong. That's why I've called you here. To help us find out what is really going on." With the knowledge sinking in, the Investigation Team nodded to indicate their understanding.

After Mitsuru's explanation, Junpei quickly joined the conversation. "Oh yeah, the Midnight Channel. That's the program that comes on at Midnight on a rainy day, right?" he asked, getting quick turns of the head from everyone. "You actually watched it?" Chie asked him with surprise, as did some others who owned the same look.

"Yeah...but it's really weird..." Junpei commented. He then looked very closely at each of the faces of those who had appeared on the Midnight Channel before, and the memories sprung to mind. "Wait, I saw you guys on that channel!" As soon as Junpei mentioned it, looks of embarrasment and horror were shown on their faces. All, apart from Yu.

Junpei continued. "Yeah, it was you who did the 'stud-hunting' challenge thing..." he pointed to Yukiko, causing her unwanted blushes to brighten. "...you were the 'prince' she chose..." he then pointed to Chie, causing her to hide her face with the palms of her hands.

"...you were beating yourself up..." he said to Yosuke, watching him smack his own forehead with an anger for himself. "Argh, thanks for reminding me..." Yosuke spoke in irritation. Junpei then moved his pointed finger towards Kanji. "...you were..." But before he could say anything else, Junpei looked at the look of building anger that was creasing Kanji's face. "Actually, never mind..." he said with a nervous wobble in his throat, watching his tension decrease with relief.

His finger was then aimed towards Rise with a blush reddening his cheeks slightly. "Yours was hot...I remember what you said, 'I'm gonna bare it all'." he said with a charming tone. Rise didn't know if she was to be flattered or disgusted at Junpei's gestures, and her look stayed neutral.

He brought the finger over to Naoto. "You were the mad scientist..." Upon hearing his words, Naoto lowered her head slightly, casting the shadow caused by the cap to cover her eyes, hiding her shame.

Junpei's finger was finally brought back to his side along with the rest of his raised arm, but his other hand was raised to his neck, using the palm to rub to back of it in thought. "I also remember this...giant bear...that was definitely the weirdest for me." he muttered loudly.

Teddie who was laying his head down on the arm of the couch suddenly jumped up to his feet, waving his arm in the air to gain Junpei's attention. "Oh, that was me!" Teddie shouted, suddenly realising what he was saying, "Huh? Why am I even proud of that?"

"That pretty much makes sense, since you were the one who brought in that bear costume," Junpei spoke his belief, "but did you seriously wear that in the TV?" Hearing Junpei's question, Teddie nodded vigourously in answer. An eyebrow was lifted on Junpei's face.

"You all don't seem to be comfortable with what Junpei has said..." Aigis engaged in conversation, "and forgive me for asking, but what gave you the thought to perform those actions?"

Yu, with his wit, was quick to answer. "Actually, they weren't the ones who did those things..." he began, immediately being cut off by Junpei. "Are you sure? I recognise their faces." he asked Yu. Yu nodded to his question, putting a baffled look on Junpei's face. "Then if it wasn't them," Ken joined in, "who were they?"

Yu looked at the group around him, and they all looked at him, knowing that they had to tell them. They all faced them with looks that they tried to keep as solemn as possible, all saying in unison, "Our shadows."

Eyes widened and heads slightly recoiled as they heard the unexpected. But even though Mitsuru made a reaction, she seemed to look like she understood. She looked carefully at their expressions that showed disgust and embarrasment, and it all became clear to her.

"Now it makes sense..." Mitsuru began, piecing together her thoughts on the Midnight Channel, "...Shadows are creatures made up of suppressed feelings or emotions, even desires. With what Junpei saw, you all must have felt shameful at the time..." They could all see the genuine sympathy that was written on her face.

She continued her deduction. "So the Midnight Channel is really a world of the human consciousness. The desires of those trapped inside it would take the form of their own Shadows." The Investigation Team and even the rest of S.E.E.S were baffled by Mitsuru's quick learning. It was much to take in at first, but S.E.E.S did their best to understand, which in the end, they did.

* * *

><p><em>0802 - Nighttime_

* * *

><p>Ken then changed the subject. "Ah, Yu," he called his name, facing Yu towards him. "You never told us about your appearance on the Midnight Channel. What happened?" Ken asked, only to receive a smile, which was unexpected.<p>

Junpei would have already remembered what happened, but instead he was sitting on his chair in deep thought trying to find any recollection of Yu's appearance. But unfortunately, he could not recall anything.

Yu shook his head, "Nothing happened." he said solemnly, getting surprised looks from the other side of the room.

No-one believed him at first, leaving a silence in the room to concentrate on their thoughts on if he was telling the truth or not. But Junpei eventually broke the quietness. "Guys, I think he's telling the truth. I've never seen him do any crazy stunts on the Midnight Channel at all." he said, quelling the suspicious looks that believed that what he said was a lie.

"In that case, you have nothing to hide." Mitsuru said with a respectful smile. Then, what she said reminded her of something else. "Speaking of which..." she spoke again, "...there's still one thing you haven't told us about you yet, Yu."

Yu knew exactly what she was talking about, but he wanted to resist. "...I couldn't, Mitsuru. I don't want to look modest." he said in excuse, immediately getting a hard slap on the shoulder from Yosuke. Yosuke can only give a short laugh. "Yu, you're being modest now!" Yosuke mocked, facing S.E.E.S afterwards.

"I'll tell them then, you vain man!" Rise joked, giving a sweet giggle to Yu which he loved so much. He couldn't help but smile at her as she did it.

She turned towards S.E.E.S. "We all possess a Persona, but our leader is very special to our team." she began, causing some of them to lean in there seats. The only one who didn't seem interested was Yukari, turning her head away with a contradictory look, knowing that no-one could be a better leader than the one she knew so well.

"What are you trying to say?" Mitsuru asked with a grin that was clear for her teammates to see. She looked as if she already knew the answer. Because of this intrigued look from their Senpai, they all leaned forward in their seats.

"I think you know the answer to that." Rise said, handing it over to Mitsuru to say the answer. Mitsuru giggled admiringly before looking at the people around her. They were all impatient with looks of anxiety.

"Very well..." Mitsuru spoke after a pause, "...Yu owns the same power Minato had. The power to wield multiple Personas." And with that, everyone's ache for the answer was quelled, only to replace them with gasps and gobsmacked expressions.

But Yukari was the most shocked out of every member of S.E.E.S, immediately darting her head towards Yu. "How is that...?" she muttered to herself before doubts started to cloud her mind. She shook her head vigourously. "...P-Prove it!" she spoke loudly, getting startled looks from the other group.

But despite the rude command, Yu raised his hand in front of him, facing his palm to the ceiling. The familiar blue and navy flames burned brightly in his cupped hand, revealing a tarot card to take form.

He took a hold of the card with every finger on his hand and gave a flick of his wrist, causing more tarot cards to appear in his hand, holding his deck like a fan. Afterwards, he gently let go of them, letting them hover into an organised line.

Yu looked towards Yukari for her approval, but instead a look of forcing disbelief and slight anger appeared on her face. And then suddenly afterwards, she quickly rushed to the staircase climbing the many flights of steps away from the groups.

"Yukari!" Mitsuru shouted for her, standing up to her feet with a will of going after her. But Yukari was already high up the Tatsumi Hall before Mitsuru could take a few steps towards the staircase.

"Did we do something?" Chie asked, hoping that none of the team offended her in any way. Mitsuru shook her head, facing towards them with a shake of her head. "She's felt like this since we were told about the disappearance of Minato's body. It wasn't your fault...she just needs some rest."

"We understand." Naoto said with a nod of her head, followed by everyone else.

A long silence filled the room, giving Mitsuru time to recollect her thoughts in peace. "Yu, shall we investigate the TV world tomorrow?" she asked out of nowhere. But despite this, Yu seemed to agree. "If everyone else is up to it..." he answered, looking towards everyone for their agreement.

Without hesitation, everyone gave confident nods of the head. "Very well then," Mitsuru said, pleased with the pro-active choices that her cohorts have made, "we will need to rest up for tomorrow, we'll need to go into town to equip ourselves with supplies.. Junpei and Fuuka will lead you to your vacant rooms."

And on that note, everyone was dismissed, sitting up from their seats and following Junpei and Fuuka to the correct floors and rooms. After their goodnight biddings, all of the boys stayed on the first floor, and all of the girls climbed the next flight of stairs to the second floor.

After their rooms were assigned, all that everyone could do was make themselves at home, immediately crawling into their beds with thoughts both disturbing and hopeful for the upcoming day.

**SO SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG GUYS! Christmas wouldn't let me go on the laptop! Anyway, keep reading and reviewing, and I hope that you all had a great start to the new year! Also keep checking my profile for any updates. CYA in the next chapter!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Yu: Do you want to talk about it?_

_Yukari: I have to put up with that same feeling everyday. Knowing that the person who I cherished so close... is gone..._

_Yu: Whatever happened to him, and whatever it takes, we will do everything in our power to find him._

_Yukari: ...Do you promise? Promise me that you will..._


	4. Someone To Talk To

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Four_

_Someone To Talk To_

**Long time no see guys and girls! Welcome to the fourth chapter! I have some very important news on my profile for those who have read my Kingdom Hearts fanfics, so please take a look, because it could be crucial info! But enough of that, here we go! LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0803 - Morning_

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><p>The weather was no different from the day before, still unloading its reservoir of plummeting water onto the deep puddles and the saturated soils. But despite the downside, everyone could get a good night sleep since no silhouettes appeared on the Midnight Channel with the small TVs that sat on desks and chest drawers. But even so, it seemed odd for it to act this way.<p>

Without a sound heard all morning, Yu walked down the stairs with his wallet full of Yens in his pocket in preparation for the day out in the town. But as he got halfway down the stairs, he looked past the banister to see Yukari sat on one of the couches with a closed gesture of folded arms. She looked towards Yu, but this time, without anger or hatred. Just with guilt.

"Morning." she greeted him reluctantly, trying to look friendly to him. He saw the effort in her eyes, knowing that she was hoping to forget her outburst from the night before. "Morning, Yukari," he answered her greeting with a assuring nod, "is everyone up yet?"

"They should be. But you and I were probably just the early ones." Yukari answered his question, still letting the guilt rattle in her throat. Yu's look was kept neutral throughout the whole conversation, and it made Yukari seem hostile to him.

He then walked past her towards the coat-hooks where his jacket was hung, opening it up and searching the inside of its lining. While he did this, there was a long and uncomfortable silence that only the heavy rain could break.

"Hey, Yu..." Yukari called his name, immediately turning his body round to her. He hummed in question to to her, beginning to listen to what she had to say. She faced away from him and fixed her guilty eyes on the floor. "...I'm really sorry about yesterday. I had no right, and you only just got here..." she spoke, lowering her head at the end of her apology.

"Don't worry about it, I understand," Yu said in forgiveness to Yukari, which slowly raised her head until she faced him, "I know that you've been through a lot since..." he then added, only to halt mid-sentence in case he might have upset Yukari.

"It's okay to say his name," she said with a slight chuckle which didn't express humour, but understanding, "but I just wish I knew what was going on..."

Yu looked carefully at Yukari's expression, and he knew that she was hiding something. He dismissed his jacket and walked over to the couch opposite hers, sitting down with his body leaning towards her.

"Do you want to talk about it?" he asked Yukari, getting a raised eyebrow in return, but clear signs of this need was written all over her face. She hummed in question at first, but after a pause from Yu, she knew that he wanted to help.

Yukari gave a sigh to calm her mind and a deep breath to collect her thoughts. And after those preparations, she cleared her throat. "You know when people say things like, 'I feel like I've been run over by a train', or that 'I feel like I've been shot'?" she asked Yu, watching him grow his eyes wider at the question in a slight shock. But he answered the question with a nod, slightly hesitant in doing so.

"That's basically how I feel right now..." she told him as solemnly as possible, "...and I have to put up with that same feeling everyday. Knowing that the person who I cherished so close...is gone," Yu could only watch her expression change to sadness as she started to reminisce, with a worrisome look.

"I know how you feel...I've been through this before..." Yu spoke in honesty, causing Yukari's head to raise up to his eye-level. To her, it seemed reassuring to know that she wasn't the only one to have experienced this, even though many of her cohorts went through the same process.

He continued. "I have a little cousin back in Inaba...she's only seven years old..." he spoke, making Yukari already notice where his story was about to go. "I nearly lost her to the Midnight Channel one time when she was thrown in there..." There was pause for Yu to collect his thoughts before speaking again, "...she was slowly dying...but just as she was on the brink of death, she started to come back. I can remember the beeping sound that was made on the heart monitor after that long flatline..."

Yukari gave a silent gasp towards Yu, imagining it as if she were there. "Just seeing her in that patient bed...I was scared, and even facing her death made it all the more devastating." he added, showing Yukari his integrity and honesty in his words.

Yu leaned closer to Yukari in his seat, as if he was trying to tell her something. She looked up at him. "She fought for her life. And that's exactly what we are going to to for Minato. Whatever happened to him, and whatever it takes, we will do everything in our power to find him." Yukari heard his words, and found them genuine and meaningful.

"...Do you promise? Promise me that you will..." Yukari asked him, almost as if she was demanding him to say that he will in a kind manner. And without hesitation, Yu gave a confident nod to Yukari, and not a second thought changed his answer.

A small smile then slowly appeared on Yukari's face. "Thank you..." she said with a great gratitude. After a pause, she felt the need to say something. "When you first showed us your power yesterday...I don't know why but...it felt like you were replacing Minato. That's what I thought anyway..." she said truthfully. Yu's lips separated from each other as she said this, but he could understood why she would say that.

"I understand," Yu answered with a solemn look, "at least you know now that I'm not trying to, right?" Yukari shook her head with a chuckle, raising her head slightly. "Of course you're not trying to. It was just me having a breakdown, being stupid." she said, as if she was punishing herself. Yu shook his head. "You're not that at all," he said in wisdom, "you were just upset. That's all."

"I guess so..." Yukari muttered clearly. Another pause left another silence, giving Yukari a brief moment to reflect on what Yu said to her with her head lowered in thought. It then made her realise something. "You're just like him, you know..." she said to Yu as she raised her head again to him.

"What do you mean?" Yu asked without a thought about it. Yukari began the comparison in her mind before giving the similarities. "You listen to everyone around you, maybe to be friendly or cheer them up. You're someone that everyone can look up to and respect. You even have the same power as him...I could go on and on," she listed. Finding him almost the same as Minato, she felt the need to say one more thing. "I'm glad that you're the leader."

Upon hearing the positive comments from Yukari, Yu gave a meaningful smile to her, knowing that she has built a trust in him. "Thank you, Yukari. I'm glad that we're finally friends now." he told truthfully, getting a smile in return from Yukari.

Yu then stood up from his seat and walked back to his jacket on the coat-hangers, continuing to rummage through the lining of it. Yukari looked over at him. "What are you looking for?" she asked, raising an eyebrow afterwards when she saw a bulge in the jacket as Yu quickly tugged it out.

"My katana," Yu answered her question bluntly, "I was planning on using this jacket when we go out to town today, but I can't have this underneath it. Do you have a cupboard or something to put this in?"

"I know somewhere where you could put it, follow me." she answered, standing up from her seat and walking over to a small door that sat under the stairs in the corner of the room. Yu followed her.

As he stood at her side, she opened up the door, revealing other weapons that belonged to the other members of S.E.E.S. There were labels with each members' name on it, and there were holsters that held each weapon under the correct name. Underneath those weapons, new labels were put on and the names were of the Investigation Team's.

Yu placed his katana underneath his label and continued to look around, coming across one place of interest. "Yukari," he caught Yukari's attention, "There's a name here called 'Shinjiro', the label where the axe is...who is he?" he asked, unaware of Yukari's downed expression.

"He used to be a member of S.E.E.S, but during the Dark Hour on the night of a full moon, he was shot down...we keep his axe here for memory..." she explained, darting Yu's head towards her. His expression showed shock. "Oh...I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have asked." he apologised greatly, but Yukari shook her head. "It's okay," she reassured him, "you didn't know."

Yu then turned his head back to the weapons and found something else. The weapon stand held some leather gloves that were made for a sport like boxing, and it was held underneath a label that had 'Akihiko' written on it. "Who's this?" Yu asked politely, hoping that this person didn't have a dreadful fate either.

"He was meant to be at the meeting yesterday, but he couldn't come because of his police induction, do you remember?" Yukari explained, watching Yu's head nod in understanding.

And then, one more place was what really caught Yu's attention. There was a label at the very top that said 'Minato' on it, and the weapon stand was empty; nothing was being held. "Wait..." Yu muttered to himself, raising his voice to a normal level afterwards, "there's a weapon missing from Minato's weapon stand."

Yukari could only look at it in sadness. "It was stolen...on the day his body went missing." she explained, hearing a soft gasp from Yu. He then thought for a minute and then understood, but asked Yukari for confirmation. "Is that why some of you thought that his body was stolen?" he asked, getting a slow nod from Yukari.

"But that wasn't the only thing they stole..." she explained further, "...they also stole his music player, his phone, his Evoker..." she then paused to reflect on one more thing that she was reluctant to say, "...and even the cell phone strap that I gave him."

And when she mentioned the cell phone strap, Yu's eyes slightly widened, slowly piecing together the facts. "A cell phone strap?" he asked, only making Yukari face away from him. "I know," she said with a humourless chuckle, "it's a funny gift to give someone, isn't it?"

Yu tried to take his mind off of it and walked away from the door with Yukari, closing it gently behind them. She looked at him with a raised eyebrow as she saw his face turn into an expression of deep thought.

"Yu, are you all right?" she asked, snapping him out of his mental state. He blinked twice before turning to Yukari. "Huh? ...Yeah I'm fine...still trying to recover from the journey yesterday." he said, trying to feign exhaustion in a convincing way.

"Okay then. Well the other's should be down soon, so the quicker we can get supplies, the more of the afternoon you can sleep through." she said with a genuine smile, walking away from him to mind her own business.

Yu was left thinking about the cell phone strap. He felt the need to tell her, but to refrain from jumping to conclusions, he decided not to say. "The cell phone strap..." Yu mumbled, "maybe that boy would know...but he's in Inaba..."

But after some time of thinking, he shrugged it off and walked towards the coat-hanger to pick up his jacket.

**There you go! Sorry for the delay AGAIN guys! This chapter wasn't planned, because the next chapter would have originally been this chapter. Sorry if I confuzzled you there, but until next time. CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>**  
><strong>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona OST

_Kanji: In Game Panic, there's this thing where you had to sit in a booth, and watch this scary film... Pee-pants here pissed himself scared!_

_Yosuke: Well don't forget, you were scared as well!_

_Yu: ... I feel like I'm being watched..._

_Fuuka: Oh, that's the effect of the coffee._

_Yu: I made a promise to you that we will find him. And I'm not leaving Iwatodai until I do..._

_Yukari: I won't cry anymore. I'll be strong, not just for Minato, but for everyone._

_Yu: You just wanted me to give back something that belonged to someone else? What was it all for?_

_?: It's none of your concern._


	5. Turning Tables

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Five_

_Turning Tables_

**Hey guys! Sorry for the INCREDIBLY long update! Everything went horribly wrong to even more horribly wrong, but everything's working now! Should let you know that a new poll has been brought out, and for those who love their romance stories and Persona will be in for a treat. LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0803 - Midday_

* * *

><p>The journey on foot to the Iwatodai's famous shopping mall was punishing, but the few spares of umbrellas that were provided by S.E.E.S saved their coats and jackets from another soaking in the newly typical weather.<p>

As soon as they walked in, the Investigation Team looked around at the different stores with gleams in their eyes despite already being stepping foot in the mall before. They already having difficulty to choose which one to go into first. But Yosuke was the most ecstatic when his eyes were fixated on the flashing lights that were strobing from the windows of 'Game Panic'.

"You are free to buy some souvenirs while you are here, but try not to spend too much." Mitsuru suggested to her friendly tourists. As they nodded to her, she immediately walked away from the group. She seemed to be heading towards the police station. "Um, Senpai?" Junpei caught her attention, "Where are you going?"

"I need to talk to Kurosawa. If we convinced of anything before, we can convince him again." she answered him briefly. The members of S.E.E.S understood what she meant, but the others didn't have an idea. But despite this, they saved the questioning and left her to it.

As soon as Mitsuru left, Rise immediately took a hold of Yu's hand and ran with him to the 'Be Blue V' store, leaving the others to mind their own business. When they came through the doors, the atmosphere suddenly turned calming and tranquil as a blue light was shone across the room. A CD player nearby was playing a slow and jazzy track to set the mood.

They both looked around the store, picking up and browsing the products that were organised neatly on hooks and tables. "Muscle Ring..." Yu read out a products name in big letters, "Feel like you can lift the weight of the world." He examined the arcane designs that were etched in the metalwork and the packaging that it was being held in.

"Are you gonna buy it Senpai?" Rise asked him. As Yu examined it more and more, his interest slowly faded. "I don't know. It doesn't look promising." he said with unconvinced thoughts on the product. But because of his likeness for the design, he shrugged off his disinterest and willingly bought the ring. Rise came out with more than just rings, but also with earrings, bracelets and necklaces that suited her fancy.

As he walked out of the store with Rise, Yu slowly tore the cheap plastic packaging apart and took the ring out. Still unconvinced, he solemnly slipped the ring onto his fourth finger on his left hand. And like he thought, he didn't feel any different. "Hmm..." he hummed, knowing that he wasted a good amount of yen.

"Hey, Yu!" called a voice from the centre fountain, catching Yu and Rise's attention. Yosuke walked over to them along with Kanji, whose face was brightened up with a grin that he was forcing to keep neutral.

"Kanji, what are laughing about?" Rise asked Kanji, almost feel like laughing with him because of his expression. Yosuke gave gestures of denial to them. "Oh, er, it was nothing right, Kanji?"

"Nothing?" he asked Yosuke, trying really hard to keep his laughter contained. He then turned to Yu and Rise and leaned forward, as if he was about to tell a story. "Guys, get this. In Game Panic, there's this thing where you had to sit in a booth, and watch this scary film..."

Yu and Rise had never seen Kanji so lighthearted before, and it nearly cracked them up just watching him snigger and holding his stomach. "...and when something jumped out at the end, pee-pants here pissed himself scared! You should've been there!" And as Kanji finished his story, the biggest laugh was belted from his stomach to the open air around him for the whole mall to hear.

Yosuke could only reflect on the story, scratching the back of his head with embarrassment. He then turned to Kanji. "Well don't forget, you were scared as well!" he defended, but Kanji's laughing fit wasn't held back. When Kanji gained composure, he caught some of his breath back. "Dude, I know I was..." he admitted happily, "...but I wasn't the one who shit a brick at the end."

As Kanji continued his outburst of laughter, Yu looked passed him to see a large store with the name in bright and bold letters 'Power Records'. He even saw Junpei walking into the store. "I'm going to head over to that music store," Yu spoke over Kanji, "Do any of you want to come?"

"Nah, thanks," Yosuke answered first, "I'm gonna see if I can get into that 'Escapade' place again...and if I can get away from this joker." He then pointed towards Kanji with rolling eyes, but as before, Kanji just didn't care as he still was unable to stop the tears of laughter.

As Yosuke left for the club, Kanji followed suit. "Well, I'm gonna check out the 'Mandragora'. It doesn't look that crowded." Rise then answered, facing her body towards the karaoke bar at the top of the stairs. "Okay then, I'll see you later then." Yu said, getting a smile from Rise before she ran up the stairs and through the bar doors in a flash.

He was then left to walk towards the record store, looking at the variety of CD's and music players that were on show from the windows. When he walked through the automatic doors, Yu immediately spotted Junpei at the CD racks at one side of the store.

Junpei picked up a CD case from the many racks and turned around to walk towards the checkout, but in doing so, he spotted Yu from the entrance. "Yu, over here!" he called for him, gesturing for him to come over into the queue.

As Yu walked over to stand at Junpei's side, he looked at the CD that he was holding, and couldn't help but feel surprised at the cover. It was one of Rise's albums, and upon further examination of the case, it seemed very new. On the cover, Rise was wearing her own designer bikini, striking a pose for those who were willing to buy her album.

"Man, you do not believe how lucky you are!" Junpei complimented Yu yet again for his relationship with Rise. And even though he didn't shout, Yu put an index finger to his lips. "Shh. Not so loud," he whispered to the blue-capped boy, "She's trying to get away from fame at the moment. Some people here might know me from the concert."

Junpei's mind was then cast back to the day of Rise's concert in Iwatodai and then looked at Yu's face really carefully. "You were at the concert?" Junpei whispered his question. Suddenly, the memory sprung to mind. "Oh yeah! You were the lead guitarist and vocalist, weren't you?"

"You were there?" Yu asked him, smiling at his growing popularity. "Dude, I was in the front row!" Junpei contained his shout of enthusiasm into a small whisper. The conversation was then cut off by a low and monotonous voice from in front of them.

"I'm going to ask you again..." the voice spoke, turning their heads towards the source of it, from which it came from a middle-aged man who was stood behind the counter. "Are you going to buy that? You're holding everyone up."

And without a word, Junpei passed the album over to the shopkeeper, waiting for the price tag to be scanned and for the CD to be placed in a small plastic bag. When it was passed back to him, he passed over the correct change of yen after some time of counting and walked with Yu out of the store.

Yu then hooked his nose onto a lovely aroma, and stopped in his tracks to find the source of it. The aroma was of a hot, and brewed coffee smell. He looked towards the 'Chagall Cafe' and had his eyes fixated on it. "Do you want to grab a coffee?" Junpei asked Yu, knowing that his inability to take his eyes off of the store's name had him hooked. "Sure." Yu answered briefly, starting to make his way towards the cafe with Junpei.

Upon opening the large and stiff doors, they walked into a warm room-temperature that filled the air with many different aromas of the same and different coffees, and it made Yu all the more tempted to get one.

After a while of looking around for a seat, they spotted Yukari, Fuuka, Aigis and even Ken sitting at the centre table with half-empty mugs in the middle of their table. Luckily, there were two seats available for them around their table and walked up to them.

"Oh. Yu, Junpei." Fuuka greeted them with her small smile, sitting up straight as they approached her and the others. "Mind if we join you?" Yu asked politely, getting nods from all three heads in response. "Of course you can." Yukari answered with a more cheery expression than she had back at the dormitory.

As they both sat down, there was almost no conversation made. A long pause made it all the more awkward. Ken, in his shyness, reached for his coffee mug without making eye contact and took a small sip from it. His face cringed as it poured down his throat, and placed the mug down, pushing it away from him.

Yu gave a friendly chuckle to Ken. "Are you still working on getting the taste, Ken?" he asked to start a conversation. "Hm?" Ken hummed as his head shot up from looking at the grains of sugar that were spilt on the table, "Yeah...I heard that when you're old enough, you can acquire the taste for it..."

"You'll get there eventually," Yu reassured Ken, "Then after your first finished mug of coffee, you'll be sat here asking the waiter for another one." After having his first conversation with Yu, Ken smiled at him as if he was friends with him for years. "You reckon I'm nearly there? I do hope your right..."

"Speaking of waiters..." Junpei spoke, turning Yu's head towards the direction he was looking in. A finely dressed waiter walked up to them with notebook and pen at the ready. They both ordered their choice of coffee after a long hard thought of decisions and dismissed the waiter.

Again, Yu started the conversation. "So, were any of you planning to go somewhere during the summer vacation?" he asked. Everyone around him gave a shake of their heads. "We were going to. But because of this investigation we're doing, we had to call it off."

"It's for the better though," Aigis replied, "And I'm sure I'm not the only one who wants to find out what happened to Minato's body." Yukari nodded her head to her statement. "I would turn down any vacation for him. And whoever or whatever took him is gonna be sorry." Yukari spoke sternly. Everyone gave confident nods to her in agreement.

By the time Yukari ended her sentence, Yu and Junpei's coffee were placed on the table in front of them by the same waiter, and left before they could thank them. Yu lifted his cup up and put it to his lips, sipping the coffee that had a taste which he had never tasted before. He put the cup down and felt relaxed and refreshed.

The next thing he knew, Yu could hear giggles and parts of whispering conversations from somewhere around the cafe. "That guy over there...he's cute..." said an anonymous girl's voice. Yu looked around the cafe, wondering where the source of the conversation was coming from. But after a while, he gave up.

"What's the matter, Senpai?" Ken asked after looking at his expression of slight paranoia. "That's funny..." Yu said as he looked back to the S.E.E.S members. "...I feel like I'm being watched..."

"Oh, that's the effect of the coffee." Fuuka replied in brief explanation. Yu's eyebrows lowered into a look of slight disbelief. "Really?" he asked unconvinced. He then picked up his cup and took the lid off, examining the coffee. But there was nothing but the taste that made the coffee stand out from all others.

"Does anyone need the bathroom?" Junpei asked, hoping that the question wasn't worth asking. He stood up, and Fuuka and Ken followed suit, walking towards the nearest bathrooms to them together. Junpei then turned round, "Yu!" he called, "Keep my coffee warm, will ya?" Yu gave him the thumbs up before he turned his attention back to his business.

Yu, Yukari and Aigis were the left at the table, leaving a long silence between them with not one idea for a conversation to start. Yu then reached into his pocket to search for his phone, and he grabbed a hold of something and pulled it out, it wasn't his phone, put the pink cell phone strap that he'd been carrying with him. He then thought back to what Yukari said earlier in the morning about the things that were missing from Minato's possession.

Nerves built up in him, wondering about how she might react, especially with what happened the night before when he showed her his Wild Card ability. But he gathered up his courage and prepared his words.

"Yukari," he called for Yukari, turning her head towards him, "Before I forget, I want to give you something that belongs to you." And with that he used one hand to move the mugs away from the centre of the table and he used the other one to gently place the cell phone strap onto the table. He then slowly moved his hand away.

"That's..." Yukari spoke, cutting herself off with a sharp gasp that choked her slightly. "Oh my..." She swiped her hand along the table and quickly picked it up, holding it close to her face with two hands to confirm it. She flipped it over and saw her initials 'YT' on the other side.

She was rendered speechless, unable to force disbelief onto herself to see this. Yukari closed her hand to keep her returned strap safe, and looked back towards Yu. "...Where did you find this?" she asked him with gracious disposition.

It was an easy question for Yu to answer, but as he remembered the boy with the black hood, he remembered his motives that he spoke of. And he then knew that he couldn't talk about him, not even a word about him. The easy way to answer the question suddenly wasn't an option which made things all the more harder for Yu.

After a while, he couldn't find any excuse to use, but he had to answer. "I-I..." he stammered at first, "I found it..." During his stutter, he tried to feign forgetful and looked passed Yukari, watching the front doors as they were swung open by a customer who was leaving. And immediately, he saw the centre fountain with the couple of benches that were available around it, which gave him an idea.

"I found it...near the fountain," he spoke forcefully, using his quick thinking to add something else, "Under one of the benches." He looked at Yukari's expression, hopeful that his excuse was enough for her to be satisfied. Fortunately it was.

"The fountain...he must have accidentally dropped it when he sat with me on Christmas Eve," she said in remembrance. "But wait. I thought someone stole it from him. The last time I saw this was when it was on the side of his bed in the hospital." After hearing Yukari's explanation, Yu knew that the excuse didn't serve its purpose. He knew that he put that boy in some trouble.

"It must be proof then," Aigis deducted, looking towards Yu for confirmation, "If the cell phone strap was stolen, the one who took it must have dropped it here. There must be a culprit..." Upon hearing the anti-shadow device, it made Yu slightly nervous about the way things were looking.

"Thank you so much, Yu," Yukari thanked him greatly, "Now we know for sure that someone stole his body." Yu was baffled by how a cell phone got to that conclusion.

"Really?" he asked, "You know that because of the strap?" He was hopeful that Yukari would change her mind about her deduction, but one memory of hers won the argument.

"Yes. This was the cell phone strap I gave him when we started our relationship. It was something to remind him of how much I..." Yukari was cut off by embarrassment. Even though a few words were missing from Yukari's sentence, Yu nodded to her. "I understand." he said solemnly. Yukari explained further. "And when I visited the hospital to see if Minato's body was gone. This strap was taken as well."

Yu didn't have anything against what she said, but even so he couldn't help but think that the boy was in trouble. He knew that he wanted to give these belongings back for good reason.

After a while of calming his nerves, he watched Yukari as she fixated her eyes on the strap. But as he looked closer at her eyes, he could see tears forming in the corners of her eye ducts. Her breathing was shaken and somewhat hesitant.

And as soon as she started rubbing her eyes, Yu and Aigis quickly went to her side. "Oh, Yukari-san." Aigis said, rubbing her mechanic arm against her back gently to comfort her. Yukari's breathing began to deepen, but she could manage to force some words out.

"I'm sorry..." she apologised with a wobble in her tone, trying to hold back the tears with the palms of her hands, "Just seeing my phone strap again brings back memories. But why...why would they take Minato? Why would they do this?" Yukari's mind was rushing with thoughts and questions in her head that she couldn't answer. But Yu was ready to speak.

"Yukari," he spoke, placing a hand on Yukari's shoulder, "I made a promise to you that we will find him. And I'm not leaving Iwatodai until I do..." The promise was then sprung into her mind, ignoring all other thoughts. Because of this, Yukari's tears were gradually being held back.

Yu continued. "I know it's hard for you, and there's no shame in crying. But right now, I need you to be strong. And I'm sure that Minato wanted you to be as well." Listening to Yu helped calm Yukari's sorrow, and eventually, the tears stopped flowing.

"You're right, Yu," she said to him, "I won't cry anymore. I'll be strong, not just for Minato, but for everyone." Yukari's resolution made Yu more confident in the upcoming investigation. But even so, there was still the matter of that boy.

Suddenly, his phone started ringing in his pocket. He searched for the phone and pulled it out, flipping it open to see a text message appear in neon colours. "It's Mitsuru," he said to the girls, "She said to meet up at the entrance."

As they all stood up, Junpei, Fuuka and Ken finally emerged. "Huh? Are we going already?" Junpei asked, picking up his cup of coffee that was still hot and filled to the top, "I didn't get a chance to drink anything with you guys."

They all tucked their chairs under their table and paid the bill for the coffee. And as they walked through the thick wooden layering of the doors, everyone was congregating in front of the entrance.

They joined the others, only to hear Yosuke's laughing from where the girls were. Yu grouped with them. "Yu, look at this," Yosuke said to him, trying to hold his giggling while forcing Chie's hand up to his face, "Chie bought this mood bracelet from 'Be Blue V', and the colour changed to pink!"

"So...what does that mean?" Yu asked, finding it hard to get what Yosuke was trying to say. "Well, according to a piece of paper that came with it, pink means that she's in love." Hearing Yosuke's emphasis on the word 'love' made Chie's expression come out as irritation, yet blushes filled her cheeks.

But despite this, Yosuke pushed it further. "So, who is it Chie Satonaka?" he asked with a devious voice, "Actually, I might have a clue...it's Kou Ichijo isn't it? Are you missing him?" Yosuke then started mocking Chie with his baby voice, which slowly turned her irritation into, not fury, but hopelessness.

"Just stop it Yosuke, please..." she said, almost in a plead. Chie then walked away from the group, talking to other members just to ignore Yosuke. And as this happened, Yosuke watched her leave, baffled and somewhat sympathetic for Chie.

He turned back to Yu. "Was...was it something I said?" he asked him, sounding genuine towards his regret for the mockery. Yu could only look at the situation solemnly. He wanted to tell Yosuke everything about that operation in the TV world, about what happened between him and Chie, but he knew that it would make things all the more awkward.

"You might have to leave her alone for a while, Yosuke. She might not want to argue about anything that's personal to her." Yu advised, trying his best to not give anything away. Yosuke gave a nod to Yu, looking back at Chie who had her back completely turned away from him.

"Shouldn't we be heading back to the dormitory?" Yukiko asked, checking her phone for the time that Mitsuru sent the text message. As she did this, some others did the same. "Well, it looks as if Mitsuru-senpai hasn't turned up yet." Fuuka pointed out. Everyone else looked around the group to find any feature of Mitsuru, but it seemed to them that Fuuka was right.

Soon after though, Rise spotted Mitsuru. "Oh, there she is." Rise said, pointing towards the police station. They all looked through the window, and they saw Mitsuru still talking to Kurosawa. "I wonder how long she's gonna take..." Kanji mumbled, but clear enough for everyone to hear.

Some were impatient, and some were happy to wait. Naoto then turned to the group. "It will look as if she will be a while," she spoke, "I suggest we do some last minute shopping for supplies before she comes out." They all nodded to her suggestion and started walking to different stores around the mall.

Junpei and the others were walking back to 'Chagall Cafe' and Yu followed suit. But something caught his eye, and he was surprised enough to stop in his tracks. He saw someone at a distance, standing near a path that sat underneath the karaoke bar. The figure turned round to him, and Yu knew remembered him when he saw the black hood and jacket. It was the boy.

"Huh? What are you...?" he asked in a mumble to himself. He started walking towards him, and in doing this, the boy started walking through the hole in the wall into the passage.

Yu started to power-walk after his body disappeared behind the walls to catch up with him. And as he turned the corner, he looked down the concrete passageway and instantly spotted the boy at the end of it.

He walked towards him. "Hello?" he greeted in question, getting the boy's attention, "What are you doing here?" After the second question, the boy turned his body round to him, but despite this, his face was still concealed by the hood and the darkness of the passage around him.

"I was hoping that I'd find you here," the boy spoke with his dark and ambient tone, "Though, I gotta tell you, it took me some time to find you." Yu had heard his voice before, but this time, it seemed more devious to him, more cynical than before.

But instead of questioning it, Yu shrugged it off. "Did you show them the cell phone strap I gave you?" he asked Yu, sounding confident. Yu nodded. "Yes..." he answered, but his sentence wasn't finished, "But she's having suspicions of a culprit now...and I might have put you in trouble. Trust me, Yukari is a clever girl."

"I'm not worried about that..." the boy spoke, again with his conniving tone, "I needed your help and you did the job just fine. Nothing more is needed from you." The voice then brought Yu back to suspicion, and glared at the boy.

"So that was it?" Yu said sternly, "You just wanted me to give back something that belonged to someone else? What was it all for?" The boy looked at Yu and looked carefully at the look of seriousness on his face. It was all humour to him, chuckling at how the situation has turned.

"Now that would be telling. It's none of your concern." he stated, purposely to irritate Yu, which worked. Yu's anger built up and soon enough, it was all let out. "Tell me how making someone upset benefits you in any way!"

Then suddenly, the boy swiftly pulled a weapon out from his jacket and rested Yu's chin onto it. Yu's neck was extended outwards to prevent the cold metalwork of the weapon from touching his skin. His breathing began to deepen in fear as he looked on the situation.

"Wha...what are you doing?" he shouted in panic, trying to keep his composure. Yu then looked upon the weapon and examined it carefully. What he was carrying was a sabre that was crafted from silver. The blade was slightly curved so that the tip of the blade was sharp and pointed. But what was most intriguing was the name that was etched into the hilt near where the boy was holding it.

Upon closer inspection, Yu's eyes widened to the name. In scratches, the name depicted 'Minato'. "So you did steal them!" he shouted in realisation. The boy was left silent for a moment, leaving the atmosphere unsettling for Yu.

"It's none of your concern..." the boy repeated, lifting the sabre higher until it reached his cheek. Then, without warning, he swiped the sabre along Yu's cheek, inflicting a long, but light cut. Yu felt the pain as agonising, and fell to the floor, shouting in response. He grabbed the wall and knelt to it as he faced away from the boy.

Yu's breathed deeper as the pain worsened, but over the sound of his breath, he could hear footsteps walking away from him, out of the passageway. After a while of relieving the pain, he slowly turned round, only to find that the boy was gone.

He used a hand to push against his cut, to pressurise it and used the other hand to support him up the wall. He slowly got up onto his feet and walked out of the passage. He looked around, but the boy was nowhere to be found. The only thing he could do now, was rendezvous with the others at the entrance.

When he walked to the others, he saw that Mitsuru was finally back from her chat with Kurosawa. And as she saw Yu walk up to the group, she wondered as to why Yu had his hand to his face.

"Yu, is everything all right?" she asked, walking up to him and holding the hand that held the cut. She pulled it away from his face and immediately saw the long cut that was spread out across his cheek. A small strand of blood dripped out from the cut and some blood could be see as a pattern on his hand.

Mitsuru along with some others were shocked at this and grouped around him in worry. "Yu!" Rise called for him, being the most worrisome one, "What happened to you?"

Yu looked at Yukari and took a brief moment to collect his thoughts, going through a process, thinking about if he should tell them or not. But in the end, his decision was made. "It's the culprit," he said bluntly, "He was the one who took Minato's possessions. I couldn't see his face but it was him."

Yu brought his hand back to his cut, and Junpei voluntarily ran to the police station to report to Kurosawa about the situation. Everyone looked at his serious look, and knew that he was telling the truth, even though the cut on his cheek was proof enough. Yukari walked up to him. "So...there was someone?" she asked, copying the same expression as Yu.

"We'll talk about it more when we get back to the dormitory. Right now, I need to get the scratch seen to." Yu advised. And with that, everyone left Kurosawa to investigate the area for any disturbance apart from Yu's encounter with the boy.

And Yu's mind was cast back, confused and baffled as to why the boy suddenly betrayed him, and as to what his motives were. He was silent for the whole way back, fixating his mind on the questions that needed answering.

**And there you go! Again sorry for the ridiculously long update guys! Anyway, keep reading and reviewing, and also...start voting on the new poll! CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>**  
><strong>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona OST

_Naoto: Was Akihiko a friend to Shinjiro?_

_Mitsuru: They were friends since childhood, and his life was taken away three years ago during the Dark Hour._

_Chie: You mean, someone just like Izanami?_

_Yu: Not exactly... what if someone else had entered the TV and changed her mind, if it were?_

_Yu: Tohru Adachi..._

_Adachi: Ah, Yu Narukami. I'd almost forgotten what you sounded like._


	6. Calling Adachi

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Six_

_Calling Adachi_

**What would it be guys? Here is the sixth chapter of the story, and I hope that you are all doing well today? Now, the poll is now CLOSED (I know, I know, it was a very quick one). But we have a definite winner...I will be doing BOTH Persona 3 and 4 for what I am planning on doing, so I will to work on those in between the waiting times for each of the chapters for THIS story. So yeah...that's the announcements over...LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0803 - Afternoon_

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><p>Everyone had returned to the dormitory, somewhat getting used to coming in after a drench from the weather conditions. As they all came in, they shook down their umbrellas. But even so, the heavy rain ruined with metal skeleton that made the cheap umbrellas, and after noticing that they couldn't retract, they were thrown away.<p>

A short while after they came in, Yu was immediately sat down on the sofa and the treatment for his scar was quickly applied to his cheek. A wet tissue was used to pressurise the wound and to dab away excess blood. With every dab, Yu winced at the stings that were close to agonising. Afterwards, a plaster was stuck on.

Whilst he was getting his treatment, Yu watched the wide-screen television that was sat opposite where he was sitting. He was watching the recent news, and to his surprise, it was yet again about Minato.

"_More insight into the recent Minato Arisato case has been uncovered today as more shocking evidence has been brought to surface," _said the neatly-dressed news reporter, _"Forensic scientists, having revealed the awful news of Takeharu Kirijo only days ago, have now discovered another death that lies within the same circumstances as both Kirijo and Arisato."_

Upon the mention of this new discovery, everyone sat down on their couches, listening intently to what the news reporter had in store. Suddenly, a picture of a young man blinked onto the screen in the top corner. He wore a beanie hat that only partially covered most of his brown and messy hair, along with a dark purple jacket that had large pockets which he stuffed his hands into. _"The man identified as Shinjiro Aragaki who was pronounced dead almost three years ago was said to be killed at midnight, which was the hour when both the earlier victims died. But scientists with the help from the Inaba Police had struggled with the connections with each of the three victims. Kirijo and Aragaki died from bullet wounds, whereas Arisato's condition and cause of death is still unknown."_

The Investigation Team knew that this was completely related to the effect of the Dark Hour, but what they didn't expect was the amount of gasps that they heard from the members of S.E.E.S.

"Is something wrong?" Yu asked the group, but they didn't turn their heads. Their eyes were fixated on that familiar person. "That's...Aragaki-senpai...Shinjiro Aragaki..." Junpei answered, slightly shaking his head to wipe his head from a horrible memory of him, and so did some of the others.

Yu then remembered the weapon stash that Yukari showed him, and recalled the name-tag that had the name 'Shinjiro' on it. Because of it, even he felt awful about it. "And they only just found this out?" Fuuka asked, almost as if disgusted.

"I do wonder if Akihiko is watching this now..." Mitsuru spoke her thoughts, looking towards the others if they were wondering the same thing, which they were. Naoto looked at each of their faces carefully and found sadness as well as sympathy.

"Was Akihiko a friend to Shinjiro?" she asked, trying to avoid her detective tone. Mitsuru nodded to her. "They were friends since childhood, and his life was taken away three years ago during the Dark Hour."

"Gosh...we're really sorry." Chie apologised on behalf of the rest of her team. A small smile was seen on most of their faces. "Don't apologise," Yukari reassured them, "it's not like it was your fault."

As they carried on to watch the news for another few minutes on the same topic, they all listened closely to what the interviewees had to say on the matter before the news changed to another topic. Everything but the TV became silent.

Rise looked towards Yu and saw his concentrated look, pondering and thinking to himself. "Senpai, what's up?" she asked catching Yu's attention by the turn of his head.

"Something's been bugging me..." he said briefly. And when everyone else kept quiet for him to say anything else, Yu just went back to thinking for himself. "Dude, what are you thinking about?" Yosuke asked as soon as he realised, interrupting Yu's thoughts for a second time.

"Okay then..." Yu began, "I don't know why I didn't realise up 'til now, but has anyone had any expansion on why the Midnight Channel came back?" When the question was asked, stumped and baffled faces were spread across the team. S.E.E.S were just ready to hear him out.

"For some reason... and I don't know why... but I don't think Izanami's to blame. Not this time," he explained, baffling everyone around him; he had never seen so many confused expressions and looks that suggested that he was crazy, but his thinking was as clear as day, "I mean, we... the Investigation Team already made her see what we're capable of; it wouldn't make sense if she would just bring the Midnight Channel back after all that. There has to be someone else..."

"You mean, someone just like Izanami?" Chie asked, slightly fearful of the thought.

"Not exactly..." Yu replied as he leaned forward in his seat, "... but... what if someone else had entered the TV and changed her mind, if it were? Then we'd know one person who could both of those things." And without any hesitation or any moment of thought, the Investigation Team almost immediately knew who Yu was talking about. They didn't know whether to think Yu was wrong or right; rather, they saw a great possibility in it, more than they would've hoped. Even though they knew that he was already doing his time, they couldn't ignore the thought of being the one person they knew it to be. "Sensei..." Teddie said to Yu with a tone of uneasiness, "... y-you don't mean...?!"

"Yes, Teddie. I think it's Adachi. There's no other person that I can think of who would bring the Midnight Channel back." And in that moment, the bombshell had dropped, leaving shocked looks scattered around the Investigation Team as if it were contagious. Yu wasn't surprised to see so many surprised looks though; the theory seemed so far-fetched, yet feasible, and they knew that the Midnight Channel would be the thing that would make it seem this way - it had that kind of effect, especially on their last case.

Yu continued. "He wished, more than anything, for humanity to become a Shadow-ridden race. And do you remember what Ameno-Sagiri said to us? 'Mankind's desires are my desires.' And now because we're seeing the Midnight Channel again, Adachi, the one who I think still carries Ameno-Sagiri, is possibly behind this."

"Now that you mention it, that does make sense..." Kanji commented, getting some disbelieving looks from the others to hear that he actually understood something. It was a big mouthful to take in, but after some pondering about it, everyone finally understood what he was saying.

"This 'Adachi'..." Ken asked as he leant forwards in his seat, "Is he still out there?" The Investigation Team looked towards him and gave him a reassuring shake of the head.

"We put him behind bars just a few months ago," Yosuke began explaining, but then changing his expression to concentration on his thinking, "but he is a twisted guy, so he might be doing this even though he is in jail. What do you think Yu?"

"That sounds about right to me." Yu answered him, reaching into his pocket to fish out his cell phone. He flipped it open and quickly dialled with a few buttons.

"Yu, who are you calling?" Yukiko asked unaware of what he was doing, just like everyone else. He ignored the question for a short while before putting the phone to his ear. "I'm calling him."

Everyone looked at him with surprised expressions, and even they thought of him as crazy at the time, they couldn't find anything to say to him that would change his mind. So he left him be to do it.

After a few seconds of waiting, a beeping noise for the indication of the call being sent through was heard, which made Yu quite nervous as to what Adachi was going to say, let alone just to hear him again. The beeping continued for a long time, and the anxiety was rising, but soon enough the phone was picked up.

"Yasoinaba Police Department." said the voice from the other end of the line. Yu immediately knew that it was Ryotaro Dojima. "Hey Uncle." he bravely spoke, expecting a disapproving reaction from his family relative. "Yu?" Ryotaro asked, but it didn't need answering. He knew it was his nephew, "Err, well hey... Is something wrong?"

"Well... this may be surprising, but I need to speak with Adachi." Yu spoke quickly, almost forcefully of himself. Everyone looked at him, but the Investigation Team were the ones that had a jerk in their stomach. "What?" Yu heard a disturbed tone from his uncle, "Adachi? Why him? What do you need to talk to him about? I could pass a message on..."

Yu turned to his cohorts who heard clearly what Ryotaro was saying. Some gestured for him to carry on the conversation, and some just shrugged without any idea of what he could do to change his uncle's mind. Yu was most focussed on trying to get to Adachi.

"I really need to speak with him...I have questions for him that he will only give me answers to. You know what he's like uncle." he said convincingly. A pause was left leaving the line silent and it only gave room for Yu to hope that it was enough to get him to talk to his enemy. Even this affected everyone else around him.

"Hmm..." Ryotaro hummed, "alright Yu, but only for a few minutes. Adachi's really turned out to be a complete maniac ever since we locked him up. And also, promise me that you won't call me up for this kind of thing again, okay?" Yu was glad that he managed to get a call with Adachi, but he then knew that he had to be careful about what to say since the only call was his last.

"Of course. Thanks." he thanked his uncle before listening to the silence of the telephone line for another long while.

During that while, there were occasional footstep noises and chatter of other members of the police. There were noises of criminals and convicts that were shouting, and nearly all of them shouted the same message. And eventually, the sound of a creaking door was heard, along with a few pieces of what Ryotaro was saying to another individual.

"What?" said a dark yet bored voice from the other end. And by the sound of it, Yu slightly jerked at the familiar tone of Adachi's voice. "Tohru Adachi..." Yu said his name, almost with a hateful disposition as he spoke it. But unlike Yu, Adachi didn't sound angered, but instead mocking.

Adachi gave an evil chuckle which rattled Yu's ear with irritation. "Ah, Yu Narukami. I'd almost forgotten what you sounded like. Well, either it's just the phone or you sound more like a grown-up now..." Adachi spoke with a voice that only seemed suitable when talking to a child. The act he put on clenched Yu's hand which held the phone. "So, what do I owe the pleasure of this call?"

Yu leaned forward in his chair, with his shoulders starting to tense. "I want to make this quick with you Adachi. My uncle's only giving me a little while to talk with you, so I don't want any funny business. I'm only calling for answers..." he said with a sternness that nearly made the others around him feel his agitation.

"Don't you worry...I'll behave. What did you want to ask me?" Adachi asked, mocking his efforts to sound genuine. The first question sprung to Yu's mind. "The Midnight Channel has been broadcasting again recently, and it would only make sense if you were the one bringing it back. So, are you?" he asked, hoping that his theory was right.

"What? The Midnight Channel's back?" he asked Yu. Adachi then left a pause on the line, which left Yu impatient. The tone in Adachi's voice when he asked sounded very genuine, and even Yu couldn't argue.

Adachi continued. "Well, I will be honest with you...and say that I haven't had the slightest clue of the Midnight Channel being shown again. Hell, I don't even have a TV with me and I'm in prison!" After hearing his verdict, Yu was stunned by what he was saying. It all sounded so true. But then another piece of evidence sprung to mind.

"But what about Ameno-Sagiri? He sided with you, and was able to control the fog. Explain that." Yu pointed out, but at the same time, he felt as if Adachi had something to say against that as well.

"Ameno-Sagiri never sided with me. You know fully well that Izanami forced it on me... but you know what? I'm glad she did... it made everything a whole lot more interesting... but then you party-poopers showed up, meddled with the wishes of the masses and left me with nothing to do but stare at a wall all day, just thinking about what would've happened if I had capped you in the head." Adachi spoke in a derogatory tone, somewhat deranged and out of mind, "But I digress... it's not like it's a part of me or anything anymore. It had been stripped of me ever since you scared it off and put me back on that God-forsaken waste of space you call reality. It can reside within any person, any host it chooses. But maybe it's already found someone... who the knows?" After Yu listened to a seemingly-genuine explanation, his beliefs were then suddenly converted and was then fully aware that Adachi wasn't to blame, but Ameno-Sagiri itself.

Yu stood up from the couch and walked away from everyone else towards the window. The rain that pattered against it made it all the more unsettling. He left a pause before speaking again. "If Ameno-Sagiri isn't with you anymore, where has it gone? Surely you must know where it went..."

"Well...only because I like to be awkward, I'll just say to you what I'm thinking," Adachi said with a cynical voice that continued to annoy Yu, "Ameno-Sagiri will just find another host just like me, who has the same thoughts as me and the same desires as me." His explanation shocked Yu with every word that was said, and Adachi could sense that through the pause that he left on the phone.

Yu was lost for words, but Adachi still had something to say. "If you're planning on catching him, all I have to say is...well, good luck! Oh, and don't get yourself killed, because if you do, I'll have to sit here without getting to see your other bratty friends crying on the news! And I'd have to envy the one who did it!" he shouted into the phone, letting out a burst of laughter that almost seemed incontrollable. But Yu didn't find it amusing.

"Shut up! Just shut up!" Yu shouted back into the phone, angered knowing that Adachi couldn't hear him over his moment of enjoyment. But soon after, shouts from what sounded as Ryotaro came into the call and the laughter started to fade away into echoes.

"Yu, what did you tell him?" Ryotaro asked sternly, but getting no reply from Yu. Instead of a response, Yu ended the call with a push of the red button and flipped his cell phone closed before placing it back into his pocket.

He turned to the others who were shocked at what they heard from the call along with Yu's reaction to it. "Are you okay, Yu?" Aigis asked him after he had calmed down.

Yu replied with a nod of his head. "It's not Adachi..." he said as he walked back to the others. Some were baffled when they heard it, even Naoto was. And others were put into deep thought.

For the rest of the night, everything was silent, and everyone was exhausted. But the only one who was kept wide awake was Yu, who kept his mind active, thinking about anyone who would have anything that would have Adachi's criteria to fit Ameno-Sagiri's requirements. But after a long time of pondering on the same thoughts over and over, there was no-one.

**And there you have it! Another mystery! Anyway, there is some new info to be kept up to speed on on my profile, so please do take a look! Until the next chapter, CYA!**

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><p><em><span>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<span>_

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Yukari: This might sound stupid, but... I wanted to tell you about a dream I had..._

_Yu: That doesn't sound stupid at all._

_Yukari: I must be a burden on you and the others._

_Mitsuru: As you are all probably aware, the Midnight Channel was broadcasted a short while ago. And I hope that the individual who I saw was also the same person that most of us were thinking of._

_Yu: Hat... Jacket..._


	7. Aragaki Screening

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Seven_

_Aragaki Screening_

**'Ello there! For those of you who read this chapter before, you may notice that I have remade it with content that was originally written for the eighth chapter! Keep that in mind! Also this chapter was quite hard to make guys! Half of this chapter was done in Rome oddly enough, on my holiday, and it was hard to try and get some production done in the schedule that we had. But not to worry, I have the chapter right here! LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0803 - Late Night_

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><p>The day eventually plummeted into a dark and murky nighttime, still refusing to let up the heavy rainfall. For a summer like this, the darkness of night came too quickly for a normal season, and even Mother Nature wouldn't approve like everyone else.<p>

They were all in their personal rooms, some staying up to watch TV, and some others that went straight to bed. But Yu was the one who was finding it hard to get any sleep with the cut on his cheek still in its healing stage. With every turn in his bed, he occasionally laid on it accidentally to cause the pain, preventing sleep for another period of time.

Unanswered questions and thoughts were also contributing to Yu's insomnia, rushing and buzzing through his mind for some sensible answer to them to quell them, but his focus on sleep was his top priority. Tossing and turning in his bed, Yu gave a sigh of restlessness and irritation.

Suddenly, the ringtone of his cell phone was heard from the bedside table. Reluctant, Yu reached for his phone and looked at the neon coloured screen. It had the words 'Yukari Calling...' on it. He flipped the phone open and cleared his tired and croaky throat.

"Hello?" he asked, at the same time, wondering why she called him. There was pause before Yukari spoke from the other end of the line. "Hey Yu. Were you asleep?"

"No. I don't know if it was the Chagall coffee, but I'm wide awake," Yu joked, yet using his beverage as a likely reason, "so, what made you call me at this time?" Upon hearing the question, Yukari gave an unintentional chuckle through the line.

"For a start, I'm usually this restless now. And this might sound stupid, but..." she spoke hesitantly. But after a short pause to gather courage, she was ready to speak again. "...I wanted to tell you about a dream I had. I told Mitsuru about it, but now you're the only guy I can talk about it to. Also, I wanted to pass the time telling you."

"That doesn't sound stupid at all. If you're comfortable with it, I'm listening." Yu reassured, attempting to listen carefully to what Yukari has to say, and already interested to know about her dream.

"Thanks," Yukari thanked before preparing her memories and thoughts, "Two years ago, just after we got settled in this dorm, I had a dream that lasted about a week." she began, making Yu pull a surprised look.

She continued. "I dreamt that Minato was still alive and it just felt like it was really happening, like it was real. As the 'days' went by, Minato and I got closer and closer until on the final day...we both fell for each other..." As Yu continued to listen, he could hear the mixed emotions of happiness and yearning for the past as a blend in her voice.

"...but after that..." she spoke again with hesitance, "...he reminded me that I was in a dream, and just like that...the memories of Minato's death all came back to me at once. That was when I woke up..." Her breathing became deeper and was shaken to the point of weeping, but with all of her strength, she held her nerve.

"Are you still there?" she asked after listening to a silent line. Yu was taking his time to sink everything in to figure out what to say, which after a while he did. "Yeah, I'm still here," he said, "It's amazing how you can remember a week-long dream that happened a long while ago."

"I never forgot it once," she spoke, having more control over her shaken tone, "I never wanted it to end. Although it had to, otherwise I would only be lying to myself. My heads a mess..."

"Your head isn't a mess, Yukari. It's just nostalgia." Yu spoke wisely, trying his best to reassure Yukari. And after some time to think, Yu's assumptions started to come to light. "Forgive me for asking but, you said that you're usually restless now...is it because of that dream?"

Yukari was surprised at Yu's intelligence to know that. "Yes, that's right. Because of it, I occasionally become an insomniac. I sometimes don't get any sleep at all..." she told truthfully, making a worrisome look appear on Yu's face. "Really? For two years?"

"Oh no, not for that long..." she said, forcing a chuckle, "...I've been dreaming the same thing for the past few days now; only recently." Her attempts to seem fine at the moment didn't come across all that strongly. And when she noticed this, she returned to her melancholic tone. "I think about it all the time. I think about HIM all the time." she said, not as a confession, but rather freely. But at this point, Yu could sense her aches, and before he could say anything, she continued. "I made a promise to him, that I would help to change the world so that less and less people would wish for 'The Fall'...but I can't...I can't be that person...not without him..."

At that point, Yukari was on the verge of tears. "Yukari...Yukari, please don't be upset." Yu pleaded, worried for her as he heard her snivels and slight escaping of weeps. Yu didn't know what to say.

"This is why I wanted to talk to you about it...you're the only one who understands..." Yukari said forcefully, having being interrupted by difficult breathing in between words, "It...hurts..."

Eventually though, Yu had some words prepared. "I know it does hurt, Yukari," he spoke in sympathy, "It will hurt for some time, but you must be strong. Stronger than you have ever been. Minato would have wanted that. And do you remember our promise?"

When the promise was mentioned, Yukari's tears came to halt and her deep breathing ceased to listen to what Yu had to say. "I promised you that me, you and the rest of the guys will do absolutely everything in our power to find Minato's body and bring down whoever did this. But in order to do that, we need you to do the same." Listening to the words of wisdom, yet again made Yukari calm her emotions down, and after a short while later, the tears and deep breathing, finally stopped.

"Be strong, Yukari. If not for us, do it for Minato." Yu ended his say, relieved by a quiet phone line that indicated Yukari's resolution.

"You're right, Yu. It's no good just to sit here and cry over a broken heart. I shouldn't be thinking about it, I should be acting to do something about it. I guess that's why 'the things you love are worth fighting for'." Yukari spoke out her thoughts freely. A smile was put on Yu's face when he heard this.

"Thank you, Yu...again. I must be a burden on you and the others." she assumed with a chuckle. "No, you're not," Yu reassured unnecessarily due to Yukari's hidden modesty, "I bet everyone sees you as a great team member."

Yu couldn't see it, but Yukari slowly regained her smile again, almost into a big grin. "This might be asking much," Yukari began, "but can we keep this conversation between the two of us. I think everyone is tired of me being the needy one."

"I'm sure they don't think of you that way. But if you say so, that's fine." Yu answered, almost as another promise to Yukari.

* * *

><p><em>0804 - Midnight_

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><p>As they were about to end the call on a good note, they suddenly witnessed the inevitable. The TV's in both of their rooms started to emit an unsettling colour of murky green. And as they watched this happening, they both, almost in sync, pulled their phones away from their ears and looked at the display screen, realising that the time was now midnight.<p>

The Midnight Channel emerged from their screens to reveal another dark silhouette that stood in the middle of the greenery. And yet again, the figure was familiar to both of them. The shape of the figure seemed tall and through further judgement, it looked like a young man.

"Yu, is this the Midnight Channel?" Yukari asked after a long look at it. Yu concentrated more on the silhouette, but after a failed attempt at finding an answer, he turned back to his cell phone. "Yeah, it is. But who is that?" But before the question could be answered, the TV screen suddenly turned blank. And soon enough, a text-tone was heard from both Yu and Yukari's phone.

They looked at their screens for the text message which, after a press of a button, was from Mitsuru. It read, "I trust you all have seen the Midnight Channel. Meet downstairs for discussion."

Immediately, Yu and Yukari hung up their cell phones and jumped out of their beds. To them, and to everyone else, it would indeed be a long night without sleep.

The urgent text message from Mitsuru immediately made everyone react and quickly rush down the staircase to meet up in the dormitory's lounge. Not one of them changed into casual wear, as they all stayed in there pyjamas and night-gowns as if they were all at a slumber party. Most of the group were wide awake, but some others just couldn't stay awake, using up all of their efforts to even sit down at a group meeting.

Some of the girls from both S.E.E.S and the Investigation Team noticed Yukari's recent tears and comforted her even though Yukari didn't answer their questions on why she was crying.

"I apologise that I made you all come down here so abruptly at this time, and I appreciate that every one of you has made the effort to do so," Mitsuru began to talk, having the least croakiest of voices among the group, "but as you are all probably aware, the Midnight Channel was broadcasted a short while ago. And I hope that the individual who I saw was also the same person that most of us were thinking of."

Everyone looked at one another for one of them to say something first which was a difficulty for all of them. But after a long while of silence, Rise was the first the break it, but with a quiet voice due to her exhaustion. "Well I think, judging by the outline of the person, the silhouette looked male and he wore a jacket and hat...that's all I know...but I don't know if that helps though." she explained her theory, dropping her head on Yu's shoulder in doubt to her own thoughts.

"My thinking only goes as far as this," Naoto then spoke, entering her thoughts with both of her eyes closed, "the only time we see the person on the Midnight Channel is after we see them through the media, such as the news. Mitsuru was the first person we encountered with this scenario when Takeharu Kirijo appeared. So this figure must have been mentioned recently."

Everyone was then put into deep thought, even Junpei was. "That guy looked pretty familiar though. I'm sure that we knew him..." he muttered, pondering as much as the rest of the group.

"Hat...jacket..." Yu mumbled quietly to himself, casting his mind back a few hours back earlier the day before to when he last watched the news. He visualised a mental image of the young man who's photo came onto the screen wearing the clothes mentioned. He then compared that image with the one from the Midnight Channel, and instantly, the similarities were shown.

"Senpai?" Rise asked Yu, snapping him out of his mind. As his eyes slowly opened, he collected his intel and took a while to think about any flaws. But there were none.

"Of course...Shinjiro Aragaki..." he said, trying to keep his composure with a solemn tone. And then, scattered across the room were shocked looks and some gasps escaped from a few mouths. There were no arguments or comments against what Yu strongly theorised.

"The guy that was on the news?" Kanji asked who then realised a few seconds later as the idea suddenly caught up with him, smacking his forehead, "Ignore me, I just got it now..."

"Aragaki..." Mitsuru muttered, looking down in thought, "for the Midnight Channel to broadcast, one must hold desires for an insight into another person, correct?" When the Investigation Team heard the question, they all nodded their heads. "So someone must be holding feelings for this Shinjiro Aragaki." Teddie said in addition.

"But who? Everyone we've known so far that held feelings for someone who appeared on the Midnight Channel ended up heading straight into the TV world. But right now, everyone is here, so we can't be the ones causing this to happen." Chie explained, only deepening the mystery further into a state where an answer was nearly impossible to find.

"Man, this is a tricky one...and I'm sure even Junpei feels the same." Yosuke complained, then gesturing towards Junpei who seemed to snap out of a daydream when his name was mentioned. "Dude, this mind wasn't made for hard thinking." Junpei said back to him, using an excuse that made S.E.E.S see him as a broken record.

Eventually, with Yukiko's quick thinking, some light was shed. "Maybe it's not us that's causing it," she said, turning everyone's heads towards her with intrigued looks, "anyone can watch the Midnight Channel, so it can be possible that someone other than us is having these feelings for this person."

The entirety of the Investigation Team were stumped and clueless as to who would fit the criteria, but S.E.E.S found an answer almost immediately. "Wait..." Fuuka muttered before putting on a more confident tone with the definite answer generating in her head, "Akihiko-senpai!"

As soon as the name was mentioned, everyone looked towards her with a shock greater than her own. Mitsuru instantly stood up from her chair. "Akihiko?" she asked in release from her horror, almost in a shout. She quickly turned to Yu and the others. "Does this mean that he's already in the TV world?"

They could all hear the dire urgency in Mitsuru's voice, but nothing certain came to mind. "I can't say that we know...it's happened with Yosuke before, but I'm not so sure..." Yu spoke on behalf of his cohorts, looking towards each of them for any answers in mind. But all he found were wry looks.

Mitsuru turned away from the group as well as everyone else, pulling her cell phone out of her velvet dressing gown pocket and quickly pressing buttons to dial a number on it. 'Calling Akihiko...' lit up in neon colours on her screen before she pressed the earpiece against her ear. "Akihiko, please pick up..." she mumbled to herself as she waiting for dialling tones.

But instead, a beeping noise to indicate a loss of signal was heard. And as she flipped her cell phone shut, she turned back to everyone else, but more towards Yu. "Me and Akihiko have never lost signal with each other..." she said with worry hanging in her throat, "does that mean anything?"

Yu stood up when the topic was mentioned, already having a thought in mind that was too familiar to him and some others in the Investigation Team. "If he was in the TV world when you called him, that would make sense. You can't get any signal there." he explained, but also establishing Akihiko's whereabouts.

"It looks like we have our lead then." Ken spoke, confident that Yu's viewpoint was correct. Everyone else felt the same, even Mitsuru. "Very well," Mitsuru said, quelling the worried expression and putting her faith in Yu as a leader, "it may not be the most suitable time for you now, Yu, but I am more than determined to leave for the TV world now if you are willing."

Yu looked around the room for everyone's condition very carefully, and fortunately, they all looked healthy enough, even Junpei was suddenly wide awake from the shocks that had happened. Eventually, his mind was made up.

"It seems like I wasn't the only one who didn't get any sleep tonight. Everyone seems awake. So we'll go tonight."

**And there you have it! A remake of the seventh chapter! Anyway, keep reading and reviewing and I will see all of you in the eight chapter! CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Kanji: Hey, we have the same glasses!_

_Koromaru: Raff raff!_

_Yosuke: Whoa, whoa, whoa! You're seriously not trusting us with guns are you?!_

_Aigis: They're not real guns. They're Evokers._

_Mitsuru: These structures come from one's desires? Those who enter the TV?_

_Yu: That's right._

_?: I know your every thought, memory, feeling and mental state. I know all that there is to know about you... even your childhood ...and Miki..._


	8. The Orphanage

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Eight_

_The Orphanage_

**Well, it's been ages guys! AGES! So sorry about the long update for the millionth-and-seventh time writing fanfics! But here it is, the long awaited eighth chapter! And since that is the only announcement today...LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0804 - Midnight_

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><p>Dressed in thick clothing, and geared with various weapons alike, the newly formed group were prepared for the operation, active with adrenaline and shaky nerves for what the TV world will bring. Even though they were familiar with what they were getting themselves into, the Investigation Team knew that they were dealing with something different, let alone that they were working with another group that have a scarce amount of experience with the rules of the TV.<p>

"Ooh, I almost forgot!" Teddie burst out in realisation, reaching into his bear costume with both paws. And after a rummage through his inventory, he pulled out several pairs of glasses that each had their own design and motif on them. He passed them on to the members of S.E.E.S. "Ah, good thinking Teddie." Yu complimented Teddie with a nod of approval.

"What are these glasses for?" Ken asked as he wore his orange-rimmed spectacles, "I don't think it would be necessary to wear them if I already have a perfect vision." The other members of S.E.E.S looked to any of the Investigation members for enlightenment. "They're Teddie glasses. It's quite foggy in the TV world, so you'll be able to see in it with those." Rise explained as she slipped her glasses on with her index finger.

The new owners of Teddie glasses were very admiring of what they have been given, and after putting them on, they felt natural as if they were already one with the group. "These glasses are great Teddie. Are you a glasses designer at the opticians or something?" Junpei asked in flattery as he adjusted his spectacles.

"Um...Yu?" Fuuka called, turning Yu's head towards her, "Do you have a pair that is suitable for dogs?" At first the question was slightly odd to hear, but then knew what she meant when he saw Koromaru sat in front of him. He then turned to Teddie. "Do we?"

Teddie then attempted another look around in his costume for any pairs of glasses he could find, and almost immediately found a small pair in hidden pocket. After taking them out, he carefully placed them on Koromaru which triggered many yaps of happiness and a large run around the room from the canine persona-user.

Upon further examination of his glasses, the design was exactly the same as Kanji's glasses. "Hey, we have the same glasses!" he pointed out with a chuckle, stroking and patting Koromaru as he came round to him.

After watching this odd moment with Kanji and Koromaru, and look of realisation suddenly sprung on Mitsuru's face. "Ah! It seems we almost forgot something as well." she said with grin, walking over to her desk. Neatly placed in the middle of it was a silver, medium-sized briefcase. She called everyone over, but the members of the Investigation Team especially, and opened the case. They didn't see what was in it, but as Mitsuru picked one out of the case and offered it to Yu, it was something none of them expected.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Yosuke shouted, recoiling in shock at the sight of what she was giving to them, "Your seriously not trusting us with guns are you?" The comically over-dramatic Yosuke had the other group fighting the urge to laugh, which inevitably couldn't be contained. The Investigation Team exchanged confused looks with one another, but when they looked at Yosuke, he looked more embarrassed than puzzled.

"I had an idea that you would react like that." Yukari said when she calmed down from her giggle. "Don't worry," Aigis joined the conversation, "they're not real guns. They're Evokers; devices specifically designed as a medium for summoning Personas." Upon hearing her clear explanation of the Evoker, the Investigation Team were more confused than ever.

But despite the amount of sense that it was making, Yu reached into the case and pulled out one of the brand new Evokers along with one of the leather holsters that came with them. Since he knew fully well that the Persona lied within one's psyche, he quickly grasped what needed to be done in order to use the Evoker properly, even though it worried him.

"So...like this?" Yu asked as he pointed the barrel of the gun-shaped device to the side of his head, which made everyone else who were unfamiliar with the Evoker recoil at what he was doing, even though they trusted S.E.E.S with the knowledge that it wasn't a real gun. Mitsuru chuckled at the group before turning back to Yu. "That's correct. Does it cause any discomfort for you?" she asked, almost as if it was a test for Yu's trust. And with a smile, Yu shook his head.

"Normally, upon first summoning, it might cause unconsciousness. But with the way you summoned Personas before, it shouldn't be a problem." Mitsuru applied. Everyone else followed Yu's sense and took an Evoker from the case, feeling the grip and admiring the look of them. They could only think that the design for this device was perfect.

"Thank you very much, Mitsuru. I'm sure our Evokers will be of great use." Yu said in gratitude. Mitsuru felt the same. "And I thank you, Yu." She offered an open hand to Yu, which he gently accepted as a handshake. The bond between S.E.E.S and the Investigation Team had been established.

"Should we get going, leader?" Yukiko spoke formally, showing off Yu to the new members of their newly formed group. Yu turned towards Mitsuru's wide-screen TV and gave a confident nod. "Of course."

Everyone walked with Yu towards the TV and Yosuke stood beside him as the first person to enter it with him. Yu turned back to the others. "Me and Yosuke will go first and we'll help you in one by one," he explained the safety precautions, "it'll be a gut-wrench on the way down. It's a long drop." At first, the new members feared to think about how to enter the TV, but hearing Yu's explanation on the way down only made it all the more worrisome for them.

Without a word, Yu and Yosuke jumped into and through the screen one after the other. From there, they plummeted and delved into the pixels that formed the familiar TV shaped outlines and the white coloured surroundings that were blended in blue, red and green. And after a short while of falling, they eventually came to an end in the corridor, and used their quick-thinking to land safely out.

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><p><em>0804 - Midnight - The TV World_

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><p>Yu immediately took his position at the side of the TV, but as Yosuke did this as well, he clumsily tripped over his toes and landed on his back in the rush to his position. As he tried to pick himself, at the moment of his misfortune, Chie fell out of the stacked TVs and fell onto Yosuke, knocking the air out of his lungs followed by a wheeze of suffocation.<p>

Upon her realisation, Chie immediately stood up and quickly offered her hand to Yosuke. "Sorry about that!" she apologised with a rush. Recovering from his lack of breath, Yosuke gave Chie a raised eyebrow at her change in reaction to the typical situation between the two. His first instinct would be start the usual argument, but instead, without a word and without pause, Yosuke grabbed Chie's hand and aided her with getting back up by distributing his weight. "Urm...thanks...?" he thanked, giving Chie an awkward look, which only made her feel more uncomfortable with Yosuke.

After Yosuke returned to his position next to the stacked TVs, he and Yu slowly but surely helped everyone out of the corridor one by one, and eventually everyone was accounted for. Immediately, the people new to the TV world couldn't help but feel repelled and disgusted by the murky landscape that were laid out in front of them.

But nevertheless, a friend needed saving. "Rise, if you may." Yu indicated for Rise's assistance. Accepting his request, she walked away from the group into a wide space on the platform they stood on, and pulled out her Evoker. After just a short glimpse of it, the nervous feeling churned in her stomach. Everyone watched her do this and couldn't quell the lack of comfort with the pause she was taking.

Yukari knew what it was like to use the Evoker for the first time far too well. She came to Rise's side and gave her the help that she didn't initially have upon her own first summoning. "It's tough isn't it?" she said, indicating her own experience yet trying to comfort Rise at the same time, "Don't worry, let me help."

She gently took Rise's hand that occupied the Evoker and slowly brought it up to her head at her own pace. She pointed the barrel towards one side of Rise's lobe and rested it against her skin. Yukari then let go of her hand and stood back to leave her to do the rest.

The cold plating of the Evoker felt like a freezing sensation on Rise's flesh, and when the thought of pulling the trigger sprung to mind, her mind suddenly became blank; almost empty. Eventually, the numbness in her mind freed her from restriction, and her finger, without intention, pulled.

A bang, followed by sound of smashing glass that scattered fragments from the opposite lobe of Rise's head, resonated from the Evoker. Flames of blue and indigo surrounded her feet in a swirling motion, and shortly after, Kanzeon materialised into view from behind her. With confidence growing, Rise's Persona placed her crown over her eyes, to determine the possible whereabouts of Akihiko.

Everyone watched in awe at Rise's Persona, some to admire Kanzeon, and some to admire her courage to use the Evoker for the first time. "Man, she looks so awesome!" Junpei spoke his thoughts with a drop of his jaw and tongue.

After a long period of waiting for Rise's verdict, they were all wondering if anyone even stepped into the TV world. "Have you found anything, Rise-senpai?" Ken asked, laying his lengthy spear on the ground to ease the ache in his arms from carrying it.

"Hold on..." Rise said in strong concentration, "I know somewhere's in there...but it's really tricky to pin-point their location." With every opportunity that she tried to take to get anywhere closer to finding the right location, it always slipped away from her grasp which only made it all the more frustrating for Rise.

Watching her struggle for so long, Fuuka walked to Rise's side and pulled out her own Evoker from her holster. "Here, let me help you." she spoke over the chimes of Kanzeon's presence, effortlessly pointing the barrel to her forehead and pulling the trigger without hesitation.

The sound of breaking glass was heard again and blue flames rose up from under Fuuka's feet. And soon enough, the members of the Investigation Team watched with wide eyes as Juno came into view, surrounding Fuuka within its pod-shaped body.

As soon as Juno began searching the area at Fuuka's command, the field of scanning drastically expanded for Kanzeon. Within short seconds of Juno and Kanzeon working together, both Rise and Fuuka lifted a hand and pointed a finger in the same direction, in sync. "This way!" they both said, looking at each other with a surprised look on one another's face. They couldn't help but smile, knowing that they had another companion of the same power. As they dismissed their Personas back to their psyche, the rest of the group joined them. "Good job, girls." Yu praised them.

With the knowledge of the direction they were heading in, Yu leads the hoard of friends through the crumbly pathways of murk and corruption. Some members of the group knew it all too well, but those new to the fog underwent the few abnormalities that made their first experience in the TV world very unpleasant. The fog was heavy, and even the slightest weight on their shoulders felt uncomfortable on their trek. Even the fog's scent smelt nothing like the aromas back at the surface of their world, and every sniff and snuffle made the scent more repelling and repugnant.

After a tedious walk, the group finally reached a landmark that occupied a large area of what seemed like dry soil. Everyone looked towards one another with any idea of what they were beholding to be a small cottage-like building. But they all just gave shrugs, which no providing of clues.

As the group came up to the entrance that radiated and pulsed its red and black patterns, they spotted a run-down sign that had chips in its wood and a few crayon drawings in it at the side of the doorway. The only words that were legible were 'Minashigo-in'. It then suddenly dawned on Mitsuru.

"The orphanage..." she muttered, putting on a more worried look than she did when the group theorised the possibility of Akihiko's presence in the TV world. She knew then that it wasn't a possibility. "Did you say something, Mitsuru-senpai?" Yukari asked, catching her worried expression like a flu.

Mitsuru walked to the front of the group and gave a brief moment of reflection as she gazed at the structure of the low-level building. She then turned to Yu. "These structures come from one's desires? Those who enter the TV?" she asked, almost demanding for answers. "That's right." Yu answered.

Turning her eyes to the ground, Mitsuru began to think very deeply in a quiet introspection, trying to find some courage to fight of the fear that she had for a definite thought in her mind. "This was the orphanage Shinjiro, Akihiko and his sister, Miki stayed in. They all grew up together here." she spoke, trying to remember every detail of Akihiko's childhood in the orphanage. Everyone was already dreading for what Mitsuru was about to say next.

"But for an unknown cause, it was set alight and...to a greater misfortune...took Miki's life with it. I can only imagine how devastating it was for Akihiko." They all gave horrified looks after hearing such a heartbreak, especially Yu. He knew the feeling of losing a family relative too well to not show an expression. Mitsuru gave a brief pause to think about her theory, and then finalised it. She continued, "All of this...the orphanage, Akihiko's childhood behind it...it's all too unlikely for this to be another person's desires. Akihiko is definitely here."

No one had a reason against her view. They all pieced the puzzle together themselves, and just like with Mitsuru, it all fit perfectly.

Without a notice from anyone, Koromaru scampered to the front of the group and stared into the hypnotising transition of the red and black portal that stitched itself to the porch of the entrance. He caught an aroma in his nose which instantly drove his instincts into a command to start growling, towards his sense of what he could tell as danger.

"Whoa, easy boy..." Junpei said to man's best friend, turning to Yu for an order, "Looks like Koro-chan's on the ball as well. What do you want to do leader?" Hearing his question, Yu made his courageous decision like every decision he made before and from time and time again.

"We're not stopping here," Yu answered, as if it was an obvious answer, "Your friend's in there. I'm not prepared to let his desires get the best of him." The tone in his voice and the confidence that he expressed faded every negative feeling from everyone's being, and even the slightest bit of worry was quelled.

As the much-needed positivity sank in, everyone slowly made their way through the porch, walking along the corridor of discorded colours before stepping into a dark room with an ominous air. Every corner of the room was more pitch-black in colour than the walls and floors that had the familiar tint of splattered green. Everywhere seemed like a trap.

Everyone spread themselves around the room, drawing out their weapons and Evokers from their holsters. Taking careful stances and using a cautious eye, they all looked around the room for anything that would be of interest. But after a long while of looking, they resorted to searching anything that was moving.

Eventually though, a voice was heard from another room, down a nearby corridor. It was muffled and ambient at first, but as the group drew themselves towards the source, vague bits and pieces of words turned into clear sentences.

"Still living in the past..." said a voice that merged a young male's voice with another that sounded too inhumane to be normal. But that tone of voice wasn't new, especially to the Investigation Team. "...and yet you try to forget about it. You try to fight in the present for a future..." Everyone creeped up against the walls and eavesdropped on what seemed to be a conversation behind a thick, wooden door that was only opened a crack.

The voice continued to speak. "...but don't you see? It's burnt into your mind...as if you were leader of the boxing team...the one rule you know so well; to not expose your own weakness, that one crucial rule, you've broken...and because of that, you've been constantly weakening yourself with something you can't let go..."

"Stop it!" shouted another voice that sounded very much the same to the other voice, with the only difference being the discorded second half of the voice, "I vowed to become stronger, I vowed to fight for my future! Who do you think you are? You don't know my goals! You don't know me!" It was all an enigma for those who thought as they listened.

A chuckle of mockery rang the halls and corridors of the orphanage with a wicked sense of evil, almost as if the other voice bathed in its own glory. "I know your every goal," it spoke quietly, merely savouring its throat, "I know your every thought, memory, feeling and mental state. I know all that there is to know about you...even your childhood...and Miki..."

As soon as Miki was mentioned, every head darted towards the ajar door. The thought then dawned on them that it was Akihiko that the voice was talking too. But the worse was still to come.

"Because..." the voice spoke briefly, leaving a long and discomforting pause, "...I am you!"

Immediately, the group burst through the door mid-sentence, rushing into a much larger room that was much brighter, but with a ghastly colour scheme. In front of the group was a tall, slender young man. He had silver hair, and wore a slim-fitting uniform that would belong to a police detective.

The man turned around to see the group and immediately, the members of S.E.E.S saw the grey colour in his eyes along with the bandaid on the left side of his face that held a scar. It was indeed Akihiko. And in front of him, was something familiar to the Investigation Team. His Shadow; his other self.

Akihiko turned back to his doppelgänger with a feared look, but at the same time felt the need to disbelieve. "What? No...you can't be me...!" he shouted, taking a few steps backwards to try and reunite with his friends.

"Wait! Don't say it!" Yosuke shouted in warning, but Akihiko was too immersed in panic to take notice. And eventually, it was too late to change his mind.

"YOU'RE NOT ME!"

**OH NO! CLIFFHANGER! I'm being mean aren't I? Anyway guys, so sorry about the really long update again! But I managed to get there. And, you know the drill...keep reading and reviewing and keep checking my profile for some updates on the NINETH CHAPTER! CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Rise: He's going for Yu! He's still in pretty bad shape... someone help him!_

_Shadow Akihiko: I'm fighting for my past now! And that is where my happiness will lie!_

_Chie: That must've hurt... are you okay?_

_Yosuke: So that's what happens if you stick a fork in a plughole..._

_Rise/Fuuka: Ken, Kanji! Get out of there!_


	9. Sanada Showdown

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Nine_

_Sanada Showdown_

**Good day, good chaps, lads and sports! I have to say this chapter came out later than I expected it to. Sorry about that guys, I've been preparing myself and the family for a special occasion here in the UK. Yes, if you live in the UK, you are probably aware that it is our gracious Queen's Diamond Jubilee coming up! It'll be a good weekend, but for now...LET'S GT-R-DONE! Oh! And also, thank you to SuperNova23 for helping me with this chapter, for which I am very grateful for!**

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><p><em>0804 - Midnight - The TV World - The Orphanage_

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><p>The Shadow's eye widened as the dark pupils in his eyes started to shrink in its golden eyes. His grin grew wider and the corners of his lips started to curl, with a chuckle that loomed in the silent air. He then tilted his head back to unleash an outburst of laughter as an eruption of dark shrouds lifted suddenly from the ground, wrapping itself around the Shadow's figure.<p>

"Not going to take it?" it shouted to Akihiko with a grin growing wider still, "Why doubt it when the truth is standing right in front of you?" Akihiko's shock froze him in place without any will to even say another word to his dark 'other', let alone to step away from the dark strings that reached out of him from the Shadow's shrouds.

The Shadow took the advantage from his shock and materialised his body from where he was standing to being very close to the front of Akihiko in a fraction of a mere second. As Akihiko gasped with gritted teeth, his Shadow thrusted its hand to his throat and grasped it with a mighty strength that only Akihiko would know, choking him and helplessly using his shaken hands to squirm his way out.

The darkness that formed around the Shadow took a hold of Akihiko's body and forced itself down into his skin, causing a choking cry of pain to escape from his weakened windpipe.

As soon as this was happening, everyone sprinted towards the Shadow with their weapons ready in hand. But before they even got halfway to Akihiko, a wave of thick darkness forced itself out from the Shadow, knocking back each of them to the ground at a great distance.

The darkness stretched out further from where the group landed and tainted the walls with a pitch-black that, even though familiar, was darker than darkness itself. As it evaporated away from the walls and floors and into the air, the landscape of the room they stood in expanded almost ten-fold, revealing the studio-styled scaffolding and lighting railings that appeared around the TV world.

As they all recovered from their fall, they picked themselves back up to their feet and looked back to where the two Akihiko's were standing. But when they did, what they witnessed was something bigger. Stood in front of them, was a large figure that strangely took on some of the features of Akihiko. It's hair was silver, but the face was pitch-black like the darkness with the usual golden eyes. It wore a tight, white hood over its head with a slimming white suit-jacket and black leather gloves that seem suitable for fighting with bare hands. It wore a white cape with a silky pink lining on the inside, and there was a laurel wreath wrapped around his neck and head.

The members of S.E.E.S couldn't help but compare this figure to Akihiko's Persona, Caesar, and find that they both looked almost the same but with minor changes. But everyone knew that it was Akihiko's Shadow, and that Akihiko succumbed to it.

"Caesar...?" Mitsuru spoke her thoughts, feeling horrified at the Shadow, but at the same time couldn't help but think back to her own experience being engulfed by her own Shadow.

Akihiko's Shadow looked down upon the small few who took their battle stances at different spots around the battlefield. "I am a Shadow...the true self..." it spoke, with merged voices, the familiar words as if it was a creed, "My second chance lies here...I will not be stripped of it! The past is my sanctuary!"

BGM: Crush - Pendulum / Master Of Shadow - Persona 3 OST

Yu was the first to react to Akihiko's spoken thoughts and quickly drew his Evoker, pointing the barrel towards the side of his head. His mind instantly became empty and without intention, pulled the trigger. And just like with Fuuka and Rise, the sound of breaking glass called forth Izanagi from his psyche and stood behind him in waiting for Yu's command.

As he slipped the Evoker back into his holster, he began his sprint towards the Shadow with Izanagi following with feet gliding above the ground. Then, as he ran past Akihiko, Yu made his command to Izanagi. "Ziodyne!" he shouted, watching as Izanagi held its hand out to call forth the bolt of lightening to reign down onto the Shadow. But unexpectedly, upon impact, the electric-attack was blocked by one of the Shadow's hands, almost without effort.

Yu was yet to make his way to safety from the Shadow, but Akihiko made the next move by stomping the ground, that which such force caused a shockwave that knocked Yu off the ground, leaving quite a distance between him and the ground. As he plummeted, the Shadow swung his fist back and quickly propelled it forwards into an uppercut on Yu.

But before Akihiko could land the attack, Izanagi glided in front of Yu and caught him in mid-air to prevent him from maximum harm from the attack, which landed on Izanagi. Upon impact, both Yu and Izanagi were forced through the air and into a nearby wall, with Yu hitting it back first.

As he was left to endure the pain, Rise ran to him to help him back up. "Yu, are you okay? That looked really painful just now..." Rise asked in worry, having witnessed to such a powerful attack. "I'll be okay..." Yu reassured, struggling to get back up to his feet, "... Akihiko's tough though." Even though it ached, he had the strength to lift his head and look towards the others. "I'll have to take a while here guys! If I'm right, he's a fighter!" he advised, sitting back down with the aid of Rise.

Rise then turned back to Fuuka. "Fuuka, can you handle giving support on your own? I need to take care of Senpai." she asked, which Fuuka nodded to without hesitation. "Sure!" she answered, immediately summoning Juno onto the battlefield, fully concentrating on scanning the Shadow.

Almost instantly, she found something. "Electric attacks are useless against this Shadow! But it seems that Ice-related attacks are his weakness!" she confirmed. Yu watched Fuuka with Juno, and could sense some kind of struggle with her scanning because of the many people in the group that she had to look after. He then turned to Rise. "Rise, I'll be alright here. Fuuka needs help more than I do right now." he suggested. Rise was reluctant at first, but as she saw the pressure being put on Fuuka, she agreed. "Okay. But be careful, okay?" she told him, giving him a peck on the cheek for good luck before returning to Fuuka's side, bringing Kanzeon into the battlefield.

The advise that Fuuka gave was good news for Chie, Mitsuru, and Teddie who all had good practises in ice-related attacks.

At this point, Akihiko was still facing Yu who was still recovering from his fall with the help of Rise. The Shadow fixated its intentions on the leader and began to sprint towards the two. Yu tried all of his efforts to get back up, but the force of the previous attack was too much to even get up to his knees.

"He's going for Yu!" Rise shouted, feeling that she shouldn't have left Yu to recover in the first place, "He's still in pretty bad shape... someone help him!"

As Akihiko prepared himself to attack, Mitsuru quickly summoned Artemisia in response to Rise's plea with a quick squeeze of the trigger, and upon appearing into view, the Persona's metal whip drew immediately from Artemisia's disposal. And with one swing of the whip, it caught the Shadow's hand which not only stopped it in its tracks, but also lead to yanking Akihiko away from Yu.

In the process of this, Akihiko tripped over his footing as a result and started rushing towards Mitsuru uncontrollably without balance. Fortunately, Junpei used his unusual quick-thinking to act upon the situation. He rushed towards the Shadow, but more specifically its feet, and instead of drawing out his Evoker, he gripped his over-sized two-handed sword tightly and fixated on his target. And when he reached the Shadow's legs, he gave a heavy swing on the sword on the ankles to trip it up completely. "Haha! Home run!" he shouted as watched the Shadow fall onto its front.

"Good thinking, Junpei-kun!" Fuuka praised his wit. And Junpei, like the comic he was, rested his long-sword on one shoulder and tipped his hat to her in a humorous gesture.

Upon hitting the ground, the Shadow tried to recover itself as it attempted to pick itself up with both arms. But as it lifted its head up, it immediately saw Chie as she ran up to it with a look on concentration on her face. She then jumped up into the air and landed an attack with a kick to the forehead. When she landed, she gave one more upward kick to Akihiko's chin, which surprisingly forced the head up, making the Shadow dizzy as a result.

As it knelt with hands supporting its damaged head, Chie jumped back to Mitsuru's side, and immediately, they both saw an opportunity. Nodding to each other, they brought their Personas forward, and both Artemisia and Suzuka Gongen raised a hand to call forth multiple pillars of ice to scatter around the Shadow.

After a short while of building up the number of ice pillars, a command from their hosts caused each of the pillars to smash around Akihiko one by one, dealing critical hits with each pillar smashing scars into into its dark flesh.

"Good teamwork, girls!" Rise cheered Chie and Mitsuru on. But Fuuka spotted something else. "Be careful! He's lost his dizziness!"

Like Fuuka said, despite the powerful attacks that it was most weak against, the duo's efforts only quelled the Shadow's dizziness, and as a result allowed it to pick itself back up with its regained strength.

At this point, the Shadow's anger started to show. "I'm fighting for my past now! And that is where my happiness will lie! If it means to kill you, it'll have to be necessary!" it bellowed with the voice of discord speaking over Akihiko's.

The Shadow then raised its hand, causing a sound of crashing thunder to be heard from above them, but specifically, and worryingly, Chie and Mitsuru. "Spread out!" Mitsuru ordered Chie, immediately running away from each other.

But the situation then became worse, as the crashing thunder was following Chie, and only Chie despite the speed she was running at to get away from it. Suddenly, a bolt came crashing down, but fortunately missing Chie by a small distance. The same thing happened again as she ran the other way. But as the second bolt was shot down, a shock was sent through Chie's leg, paralysing it, and collapsing her to the floor with no alternative way to pick herself up.

"Chie's paralysed!" Fuuka informed everyone, "It looks pretty nasty too...she'll have to rest for a moment to heal..." But then there was worse to come, as Rise then found out. "Wha...? It's gonna use Ziodyne again! The amount of power in this one is far greater than the last ones!"

The noise of thunder was heard again, just like Rise said, and this time, it was guaranteed to hit someone. As it loomed over Chie, Yosuke was the first to react. "Chie!" he shouted with concern. As the noise grew louder and louder, Yosuke sprinted towards Chie, trying to help her up to her feet afterwards, which was a difficult task.

The thunder warned them for one last chance to get out of the way, but Chie's paralysis in her leg persisted for so long that it was getting hazardous. But as Yosuke looked up, he knew that the lightening was inevitably going to come down soon. And as one last crash was heard from above, Yosuke quick-wittedly pushed Chie away from him as the bolt finally struck.

Yosuke then suffered the pain of large amounts of volts running through his body, screaming in agony as his body parts twitched with every current of electricity attacking his nerves. Eventually, the lightening lost its power and all Yosuke could do was collapse to the ground on his front, groaning, and slightly twitching still.

"Yosuke!" Chie called for him in worry. And just in time, the paralysis in her leg wore off, allowing her to pick herself up and run to her saviour. She rolled him over onto his back and lifted his head to support it. "That must've hurt... are you okay?"

"He doesn't seem to be ailed with anything. Yosuke!" Rise informed, calling for Yosuke just in case.

"So that's what happens if you stick a fork in a plughole..." Yosuke joked, failing to make himself feel any better than he did then. "...but don't worry, I'll get him back." Struggling, he reached for his holster and took out his Evoker, pointing the barrel upwards against his skin below the chin. And with a click of the trigger, Susano-o appeared from the erupted blue flames behind Chie and its fried host.

Susano-o rushed towards Akihiko with the knowledge of Yosuke's command through his psyche, and the closer it got to the Shadow, the faster its saw-blade spun in preparation for its attack.

As Susano-o jumped up to the Shadow's eye-level, its saw-blade lifted from its body and, as if telepathically, the Persona spun the weapon to gain power before throwing it with such force that it tore through the side of Akihiko's dark flesh, leaving a wound in its body. Upon feeling the tear, the Shadow clutched the wound in agony, standing on one knee.

Yosuke dismissed Susano-o back into his mind and then turned to Yukiko. "Yukiko, burn him!" he shouted to her, as if it was an order. Yukiko responded to this and quickly sprinted towards the Shadow with Evoker in hand. As she pulled the trigger when the barrel was bit between her teeth, she summoned Amaterasu, which was then commanded through Yukiko's psyche to cast multiple Agidyne spells on Akihiko one by one, eventually giving the Shadow several burns across its body.

Afterwards, Teddie was the next to sprint towards Akihiko. "Feelin' hot?" Teddie shouted to the Shadow in mockery, "Then let me cool you down! Bear-sona!" He then drew his Evoker out from a back pocket in his costume and stuffed it through its zipper, pulling the trigger to summon Kamui.

As he came near to the Shadow, Teddie leaped forward onto the front of his body and used the bounce in his bloated costume to gain a greater height into the air. When he was the peak of his height, Kamui called forth a Mabufudyne spell on Akihiko, bringing back the pillars of ice to do critical damage, especially on the wound. As Teddie, landed safely, Yukari and Koromaru ran past him bow & arrow and Kunai knife at the ready.

"Akihiko's been knocked down! Make this one count guys!" informed Rise, shouting in a tone of encouragement.

Yukari took out her Evoker from her holster as she neared the Shadow, pointing the end of the barrel towards her forehead and clicking the trigger to bring Isis into view. Upon command, Isis dived towards Akihiko and unleashed its Garudyne spell, attacking it with a large whirlwind of one of nature's many weapons.

But unexpectedly, the Shadow managed to pick itself up before the attack could be landed and took a step away from where it was standing to dodge the attack. Shocked at her miss, she continued to run to a safe spot on the battlefield, little did she know that the Shadow was sprinting behind her in preparation for another kick action.

"Yukari-chan! Look out!" Fuuka yelled in warning.

Yukari worryingly looked behind her as she ran, watching Akihiko's thunderous kick create a shockwave that curled with a white gleam as it travelled through the air towards her. But at that moment, Koromaru activated his dog-collared Evoker to bring out Cerberus from his canine psyche. Cerberus then ran on four legs in front of Yukari, in the shockwave's way.

Even though he was only a dog, Koromaru knew what he was doing, taking advantage of its High Counter to not only prevent the attack from landing on either Cerberus or Yukari but repelled it away from the two and back towards Akihiko. The Shadow managed to dodge his own attack, but did stumble slightly when the air from the shockwave forced against him.

"Aww! Who's a smart doggy, Koro-chan?" Rise praised the canine with puckered lips and a sweet baby voice.

As the Shadow looked back to Yukari, it instantly saw her bow & arrow and shortly after, an arrow being launched into shoulder, which it couldn't pull out because of how deep it was in its skin.

Naoto was the next to make her move. She drew out her Evoker and pulled the trigger when the barrel was pointed towards the side of her head, bringing her Persona, Yamato-Takeru onto the battlefield with its sword gripped tightly in its hand. Yamato-Takeru glided towards Akihiko with a blinding speed before dashing around the Shadow with swings and slashes of its sword between each dash in a Vorpal Blade attack.

After a set amount of damage was done, Naoto began to sprint straight towards the Shadow, calling back her Persona as she did this for her next move. When Yamato-Takeru flew with Naoto, the Persona took a hold of the host's hand and glided over Akihiko.

"Naoto-kun, be careful!" Fuuka shouted in warning, worried as she saw the large distance between Naoto and the ground.

But what made Fuuka, along with others, gasp was when Yamato-Takeru let her go to take out her pistol from her other holster in free-fall. Balancing herself in mid-air, Naoto used the upmost of her precision and time in flight to shoot multiple bullets into the Shadow, dealing several critical hits when some bullets hit vital organs. The loud noises with every bullet were deafening to hear, but when she landed safely on the ground, she allowed for others to make their move.

Ken and Kanji saw their window of opportunity and began their sprint with each other towards the Shadow with long spear and blunt object in hand. "Ken, you know what you're doing? I'll be right behind you!" Kanji asked him with added confidence, comparing the size of his spear to Ken himself. "Of course I do!" Ken answered, willing to save his Senpai from his own Shadow.

Approaching Akihiko, they both drew their Evokers and summoned their Personas, Kala-Nemi and Rokuten Maoh in their blue inferno, commanding them with their psyche to perform their Vile Assault which, uncannily, they both know so well. The two Personas leaped forward towards the Shadow using their thin arms and sword of arcane design to slash downward which oddly, didn't do as much damage as they thought that they would do.

As a result, the Shadow managed to overcome the critical hits that it took and recovered itself to make its next move on the two. Akihiko clutched one of his fist and called forth a flash of lightening to fill his palm and knuckles with electric energy to pummel with.

"Ken, Kanji! Get out of there!" Rise and Fuuka cried out in sync.

"Dammit!" Kanji shouted as he looked behind him, theorising the amount of volts within the Shadow's fists. Thinking about what happened with Yosuke made it all the more worrying. "Sorry Ken!" he then shouted for Ken, grabbing the end of his spear without cutting himself and threw it further away from him with Ken still latched onto it, to prevent him from taking the punishment from the incoming attack.

Kanji stopped in his tracks and held his replicated shield-like weapon at eye-level to shield himself from the electrocuted punch that was delivered with such as force that it knocked him into the nearby wall, like it did with Yu. But despite this, no harm was done to him, even if the attack did frustrate him.

As he yelled in rage when he lowered his weapon, he stood up with haste, and with the burning adrenaline bursting through his muscles, he threw his shield replica towards Akihiko's head. But as others watched him do this, their eyes followed his weapon, which utterly missed the Shadow by a large distance.

"Urm..." Fuuka hummed after a long awkward silence upon witnessing Kanji's mistake. "Er, Kanji...? You... kinda missed?" Rise informed the obvious, which only made Kanji feel more bad about himself. He darted his head towards Rise in fury. "Shit! You think?" he shouted, thinking that mockery would give him back some dignity.

Kanji could only give a sheepish look at the wasted effort, and as the Shadow fixated its eyes on him, he felt that he was left with no other options. "C'mon guys! Who's go is it?" he shouted in question, hoping for anyone to jump into the battle.

Junpei responded to this and decided to jump in for a second time, but this time, with Aigis. As they were running, Junpei took out his own Evoker and quickly summoned Trismegistus into battle. Gliding with golden wings, it swooped down to Junpei's level, allowing him to jump onto its back. From there, Junpei circled the Shadow with his Persona, throwing Agidyne spells from every angle.

But from the Shadow's last experience with Yukiko with this kind of attack, it managed to dodge most of the shots made by Trismegistus. And when the large wave of fire spells ended at Junpei's command, Akihiko retaliated with a rapid Ziodyne spell, which successfully landed on Junpei. It not only scorched his favourite hat, but also his whole body, dismissing his Persona without intention and collapsing to the floor in the same way Yosuke did.

Although they saw this kind of attack happen earlier on, everyone could only give cringed looks at the crispy Junpei, giving 'ooh's and 'ahh's as he hit the ground.

The last person to make their move was Aigis, who sprinted towards the Shadow with incredible speed, stretching out her fingers to activate the mini-guns within her fingertips, firing rapid rounds in great succession across the whole of Akihiko's body. After running past him, she gathered her power in her robotic legs and executed a giant backward flip over the Shadow, using her built-in Evoker to call forth Pallas-Athena from her humanoid psyche.

Upon command, her Persona brought about a large portal below her, causing a large, mighty and powerful fist to come crashing down onto the Shadow, forcing Akihiko to the ground and even forming cracks and dents in the wooden floor. But then, as Pallas-Athena was dismissed, Aigis performed something else, while still in flight, which the Investigation Team, and even some of the members of S.E.E.S did not expect.

Using her internal Evoker for a second time, Aigis brought, not Pallas-Athena, but another Persona, a one which was too familiar to S.E.E.S and especially Yukari; Orpheus.

But upon summoning it, something else revealed to be unexpected. "Aaagh!" Aigis cried out as she brought Orpheus into view, holding her head in agony with an extremely cringed look. Because of this, Orpheus also began to go berserk, rushing towards the Shadow out of Aigis' control and dealing a variety of different attack, ranging from melee to ranged and from physical to spell casting. But as a result, the attacks were landed on other members of the group as well as Akihiko.

"Aigis? What's going on?" Fuuka asked in a shout, unable to describe the sense that she picked up from Aigis. Rise was just as confused. "The reading in her psyche has gone weird! Aigis, call the Persona back! You'll exhaust yourself!" Rise shouted in urgency.

When Orpheus' strange phenomenon ended, it was quickly dismissed back into Aigis' psyche, leaving her mentally exhausted as she fell back to the floor, standing on one knee to recover her strength.

"Aigis!" Yu shouted as he rushed to her with a full recovery. He quickly helped her up to her feet as well as some others who were close by. "Are you okay?" Yukari asked, helping her to regain her balance. "I'm... I'm fine now..." Aigis answered with deep breaths, "... but... what just happened...?"

"You used the Wild Card..." Yu answered her somewhat rhetorical question, with a tone that praised her in awe and wonder, "...that's amazing."

As Aigis gave a weak smile to Yu in gratitude, she collapsed to the floor in complete exhaustion. "Yukari, keep her safe. I'll take it from here." Yu ordered as the leader he was, getting a nod of agreement from Yukari.

Yu took his second shot in the battlefield, dearly hoping that the same incident wouldn't happen again. He drew out his Evoker for a second time, and stood in a spot, fixating his eyes on the Shadow and the many possible routes that he could take. And as soon as he spotted a sensible path, he took out his katana with the other hand and started to sprint straight towards Akihiko.

The Shadow reacted to this and started to throw boxing punches to the ground to cause more shockwaves, which Yu managed to dodge with some level of difficulty. But when the time came, Yu pointed the Evoker to his head and called forth his ultimate, Izanagi-No-Okami and used its arcane sword to parry and block other rapid melee attacks made by the Shadow.

Yu continued to do this until he was standing up close to the Shadow where he leaped towards the head and used the katana to slash Akihiko between the eyes, which forced the head and the rest of the body away from Yu.

Dizziness returned to Akihiko's head and, as a result stumbled onto its back which lead to Yu's next move. As Izanagi-No-Okami was returned to the psyche, Yu pulled the trigger on himself again to bring out Black Frost, whose mischievous attitude already gave way to ideas of causing havoc.

Black Frost jumped onto the Shadow's front as it laid down and began to deal multiple punches to the head with the extra damage of scratches done by the claws that it dons. As it continued to punch, jab and thrust, Black Frost started to deal each attack with faster paces, laughing harder and harder the more rapid the punches got.

This continued for a long while before Yu dismissed Black Frost and brought out yet another Persona with a third consecutive squeeze of the trigger. Out from the indigo flame appeared the ultimate being of the Star Arcana, Helel standing in front of Yu with six angelic wings and horns to show his supremacy.

Yu knew what was going to come next, and it was dangerous. "Guys, get somewhere safe!" he shouted to everyone, including Fuuka and Rise, who all instantly reacted to his order.

Helel took a few steps forward with its head down before gathering up its power to unleash a deadly attack that could only be remembered as Megidolaon. A dark purple aura surrounded Helel as it tensed its muscles that would belong to a deity. A sound of growing strength screeched with warning, and it wasn't long before the Shadow reacted to this. "W... What are you? What is... this... power?" it yelled to Yu, expressing its fear and helplessness as it used every bit of effort to get back up from its fragile state.

Yu saw this happening and started to walk backwards from not only the Shadow, but also from the hazard zone of Helel's power which he was currently standing in. Yu continued to do this until he reached the nearby wall, standing at a large distance away from the Persona and Akihiko.

Whilst he stood back, Helel looked up at the Shadow in readiness as the full gathering of such power was complete. Akihiko lifted a hasty hand and slowly attempted to grab Helel before the inevitable would happen.

But it was too late for Akihiko as Helel finally thrusting its arms out to unleash what seemed by the group around to witness this to be an attack that not even the greatest of beings could stand against.

The force of the attack was then let loose from Helel's body, immediately filling the battlefield with a blinding light that even tightly shut eyelids could not withstand, and the shocks in the ground combined with the pushing of the gales shook everyone around the room without any control of their own body limbs.

And large explosion was then heard from the distance, punishing everyone's eardrums along with the heat the followed after, feeling the burning from the spiralling inferno that filled the whole area. Everyone yelled out to keep their will strong, but the noise of the Helel's power screamed over their voices by many incredible decibels.

However, the only yell they heard from in the noise was Akihiko's.

The brightness lingered for some time before returning back to Helel, who stood in the centre of the battlefield with the radiant glow left to decay. When the last of the light faded from its body, Yu dismissed Helel back to the psyche, sliding his back down into a sitting position, exhausted and struggling to find the energy to even stand up.

As everyone came out of their safe spots, they quickly came to Yu and helped him get back on his feet after being exposed to such a dangerous attack. It only just slightly exacerbated his scar slightly in his plaster.

"Man, everything happens to you, huh?" Yosuke joked, almost in friendly mockery towards his best friend. Yu could only chuckle. "Look who's talking..." he said as a comeback, spotting smoke rising from his head, "...your hair's on fire by the way."

Yosuke looked up to find wisps of smoke trailing away from his hair, and as he felt a burning sensation on his scalp, he quickly put out the small fire with a few hard pats on the head.

A short while after, they all heard a groaning from behind the group, and as they all turned their head, they saw the two Akihiko's lying on the ground in weak states, hardly able to lift their heads up.

They all quickly went over to the real Akihiko and helped him up to his feet, holding onto his shoulder to stop his stumbling. "...Thanks..." Akihiko thanked before looking back down to his 'other' self, watching the darkness evaporate away from its body. It may have been his enemy, but Akihiko couldn't help but to feel some form of sympathy for the Shadow; for himself.

After regaining some strength in his legs, he walked towards the broken Shadow, somewhat fearing the development of his acceptance towards his doppelgänger. But nonetheless, he approached it as easing as he could, and knelt down to it, watching its eyelids slowly open to reveal the tears forming in the corner of its eyes.

"... Do you...understand now...?" the Shadow asked quietly with a weak croak in his tone. Akihiko couldn't lie; all that he said before was all a lie to himself, and it was too shameful for him to even say anything against what the Shadow was stating. The facts were too true. But despite it, Akihiko nodded, sighing from his foolish behaviour.

"Yes..." he spoke with a deep breath, "... I'll admit it. I looked more into my past than into my future... and because of that, I've put myself off so many things..." To even face himself was painful, but to accept it was even harder. But then the reason for his true side sprung to mind. He continued. "But I guess...it wasn't all out of depression...but also an incentive to push me towards a better future. That's why I got into boxing and into a policing career; to fight for what I had and for I still have...and you showed me that."

The hatred he once felt towards his darker side slowly turned into gratitude. He placed a friendly hand on its shoulder with a remedial feeling of relief after getting the suppressed truth off his chest. "... Thank you." he thanked with a huge amount of gratitude.

The Shadow gave a meaningful smile before lifting a weak arm to place its own hand on his shoulder. "Don't lose sight of yourself, champ..." breathed the doppelgänger as its final words, also to give Akihiko the encouragement to move forward.

And as the Shadow's golden eyes faded into its eyelids as they closed, its dark embodiment started to erode away into dust and powders of light. Bit by bit, the Shadow's dust filtered back into Akihiko's body until not a trace of suppression was seen again.

Then, in front of him materialised two other figures, who appeared with bright outlines around their bodies. Only one of them was remembered by everyone as the silhouette who appeared on the Midnight Channel who was remembered by the Investigation Team as a spirit, but to Akihiko, they were both remembered as Shinjiro Aragaki and Miki Sanada.

"Think you can handle yourself now, Aki?" the spirited Shinjiro asked his best friend. Akihiko felt somewhat sad upon seeing his long-time friend stand in front of him for one last time, but at the same time felt the need for much-needed progress. And without tears, he gave Shinjiro a smile.

"I've finally opened my eyes, Shinji. And now, I think I can." he answered him with no hesitation. As Shinjiro showed a grin for a final time, he then looked towards the group, and then Ken. "Ken, take care of him for me, will you?" he asked of him, getting a quick nod of the head from Ken.

And as the last of his request to Ken was told, Shinjiro slowly faded away into the light, evaporating into illuminant dust. Ken could only watch this with his bottom lip slightly trembling.

Akihiko then turned towards his little sister, Miki. For everyone, it was the first time anyone had seen his young sibling, but what heartbreaking was that they all saw her as a spirit. She had the same coloured hair as Akihiko, but longer and it was tied up into a ponytail. Their eyes were the same grey colour, and if you compared each other's faces, their faces wouldn't show much difference.

"Miki..." Akihiko uttered her name, "...it must be weird seeing your brother all grown up now..." Everyone could hear the cracks and wobbles in his voice which made it all the more saddening.

"Aki..." she muttered, resonating her sweet voice in the echoes, "...it's not weird...but you look so much like daddy..." At this point Akihiko tried his best to hold back the tears, as well as some others who were watching this tender moment. But the mentioning of his dad made Akihiko remember his face.

"...You remember dad? Wow...what about mom...?" Akihiko asked, trying to reminisce the times with his spirited sibling. His sister then smiled. "...Of course...we all watch you from above every day..." she said, which instantly triggered tears from Akihiko's eyes.

Akihiko gasped with gritted teeth to hold back the tears, but was too choked to say anything else. "...R-Really...?" he forced from his throat, trying to swallow the lump caught in his gullet, "...Well...tell them...that I'm always thinking about you all..."

"I will..." Miki quietly said, also fighting to stop the tears from forming, "...goodbye, brother..."

"...Good...bye." Akihiko hesitantly said with a tremble, watching his little sister evaporate in a godly glow, back to the heavens for which she mentioned as his family's whereabouts.

Akihiko stood back up and kept his back turned from everyone else, wiping the falling tears away from his cheeks and eyes. His mind was then sent into deep thought, and suddenly his reason for looking back to the past popped into his head.

"I look to the past...to strive for a better future..." he reminded himself in a mutter. And as those words sank into his mind, the tears began to stop and the block in his throat started to clear. "There's no use crying over the dear things that I've lost..." he then thought to himself, "...but I should fight for what is still there and remember only the good memories of those who have passed away..."

Coming out of his thoughts, his mind was set. He then turned round to everyone and tried his effort to smile, which in turn helped everyone else to do the same. But as he took a step forward towards the group, his weakened legs gave way, and collapsed him to his knees.

Before he could hit the ground, everyone quickly rushed towards him and caught him by the arms, lifting him back up to his feet. "Akihiko, is everything alright?" Mitsuru asked in worry as she caught him. Akihiko lifted his head up to her with a smile. "Never felt better. I know what to set myself on now," he answered truthfully, "just feeling exhausted, that's all." Even though it didn't seem the appropriate time to smile, everyone just couldn't help but smile with him at his ability to cope with such a given situation.

He then turned to the rest of the newcomers, but more specifically, Yu. "Looks like we've got some introducing to do." he said with a will to meet and greet, beginning to stand up straighter after a regain in his legs.

"It seems so." Yu began, "I'm Yu Narukami, the leader..." And from there, he went through the whole list of friends that were involved in the Investigation Team, titling each of them with their role within the group.

As Yu ended their introductions, Akihiko offered his hand to him. "Mitsuru's told me about you guys. It's good to meet you all at last." he told him with a smile, "I'm Akihiko Sanada, former head of the boxing team and Ayanagi Police Trainee." And with that, Yu took his offered hand and shook it with confidence that they would all get along.

When the handshake ended, Koromaru scampered the the front of everyone and started jumping up Akihiko's legs, yapping with excitement and happiness. "Ah, hello boy! Have you been good while I was gone?" Akihiko said in a slightly higher voice to man's best friend, patting and stroking him with praise.

"Well, looks like we have a full house now!" Junpei pointed out in his whimsical manner. Akihiko could only give a chuckle with the rest of others. "I hate to say this, but I can't say that I didn't miss you Junpei," he admitted playfully, then turning back to Yu, "but aside from that, I see that we have another Wild Card user on the team. I haven't seen power like that in a long time." Yu gave a nod of gratitude to his new cohort.

"I'm actually feeling more exhausted than I used to when summoning Kala-Nemi." Ken said, stretching his arms to relieve his aches, which others did as well. Mitsuru seemed to agree with a slow stretch of her neck. "I'm also feeling quite fatigued. Perhaps it's from the prolonged disuse of our Evokers...and it might sound strange from me, but it's been over two years since I felt the thrill of summoning Artemisia." she said, giving an awkward chuckle knowing that she said something that she normally wouldn't.

"But Aigis..." Yukari began to point out as she turned to Aigis with a cautious, yet worried expression, "...are you feeling okay now? I mean, you instantly became exhausted when you summoned Orpheus..." Aigis gave Yukari a nod, without bothering too much about her incident. "I'm okay now...don't worry..." she answered, trying to keep a smile on.

"We should discuss it once we get back to the hall. This isn't the best place while some of us are still fatigued." Naoto suggested, already intriguing Akihiko with the detective air about her. "It's been quite a while since I was in a dorm with a bunch of friends. And speaking of summoning," Akihiko spoke, turning to Mitsuru, "do you still have my Evoker?"

"Of course. It's where you left it." she answered. But then her own questions sprung to mind. "Wait. Are you suggesting that your coming back with us? But what about your police training course?"

Akihiko already had an answer prepared. "I'll just call in sick for a week or two," he said with a chuckle, "besides, I'm curious as to what this place is and why my TV was acting funny...I'm sure the new gang here will have the answers."

"Then let's get back." Yu ordered, leading everyone through the orphanage dungeon into the long pathways that stretched across the TV world. As the fog came into view, Akihiko was rendered blind to his surroundings, relying on the guidance of others to lead him through.

With the full group together, and a former member united with his new and old friends, the group has grown stronger, not only in physical strength but also in brains that Akihiko has added thanks to a few weeks of being a trainee police officer.

After long miles of walking, everyone safely made it back to the dorm. And even though the heavy rain still didn't let up, the night was young and they were all in for a good night sleep.

**How long was that? Didn't expect to write this chapter to be 16 pages long! Anyway, keep reading and review and I will hope to get cracking on the next chapter soon! CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Yu: Aigis?_

_Aigis: Yu?_

_Igor: It has been quite some time since we last saw you two. But morning makes haste, so we should not keep you here for too long._

_Elizabeth: I sense a trouble within your psyche. Is everything alright?_

_Aigis: ... It only happened just recently...with Orpheus..._


	10. Wild Card Malfunction

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Ten_

_Wild Card Malfunction_

**Morning (or evening) all! Just a quick announcement. The first and fourth chapters of Persona: His Sapphire Eyes have been rewritten! Check them out if you want, and I will get to work on the second and third if I have time, but I tell...the second is really long! But anyway, LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0804 - After Midnight - The Real World_

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><p>From the dreadful, virtual horrors of the TV world and back into the comfortable norms of reality, everyone, especially Akihiko was relieved to have survived another fight, finally in realisation that they have become a full, working and co-operated team.<p>

But the night was still young, and there was some much-needed sleep to be done. They all each said their goodnight farewells to each other before returning to their own rooms on different floors, struggling to even climb up or downstairs from the long trek they had to endure during the way back from the TV world.

Yu was the first to reach his room, using the dead weight of his body to push the door open as he twisted the key, nearly falling over as a result. As he closed the door behind him, he approached the bed, taking his Teddie glasses off and placed them on his bedside table, along with his new Evoker that shone brightly when it reflected the light off from the lamp.

He undressed himself into his pyjamas, feeling that the amount of work he did that night was worth getting himself into fresh night-gear. And after a washing his face in the nearby sink to get rid of the grime and sweat, he laid on his bed, feeling the warm cotton hug his body, better than it did before entering the TV. As soon as his head hit the pillow, his eyes were closed and his body entered into a deep slumber.

It was darkness for a while, but after a short moment, his body felt that familiar feeling of drifting into the air, downward in a spiral motion. But then something unexpected happened while floating around in his subconscious. His body, after hovering motionless, was suddenly propelled forward at an incredible speed, almost making his physical stomach churn.

As the wind of his subconscious flew by him, he saw a dark blue door in the distance, standing out from the pitch-black around him. And as he approached it, the door slowly creaked open, which then caused a beam of light to shine through the open crack. When the door became fully open, his body darted through the porch, entering the flood of light head-on.

For a while, a brilliant brightness of white was all he could see; in front of him, around him, above him and below him. But as the moment passed, the light started to drain out, allowing Yu to view the surroundings around him, which, upon looking around, wasn't what he was expecting. The colours of the furniture were of indigo, navy and many shades of purple and violet, which was familiar to him, but the room around him was completely different.

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><p><em>0804 - After Midnight - The Velvet Room_

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><p>Instead of sitting on luxury seat in a limo, he sat in a chair of a strange design which only stood in the centre of the room. To the sides of him were doors; some of them covered by white sheets, and some which just stood in different spots around the room. But the main centrepiece of the room was the giant clock on the wall opposite with a white clock face and hands and numbers which shone the colour gold.<p>

Sat in front of Yu was a small table with the same colour as the other furniture. And the one who sat at it was Igor, along with his two assistants, Elizabeth and Margaret who stood beside him.

As Igor looked up to see Yu with his bloodshot eyes and widely curved smile, he then felt a sense of someone beside him, along with a sight of them in peripheral vision. And as Yu turned around to see, it was quite a surprise for him to see Aigis sitting in another seat next to him.

"Aigis?" he asked for confirmation, turning her head round to see him. And just like Yu's expression, Aigis also felt surprised upon seeing him. "Yu?" she asked, almost rhetorically to confirm that it was him.

As they both wondered as to how they entered what they thought as the Velvet Room, the obvious answer suddenly clicked in their minds. Because they possessed the Wild Card.

"Ah, welcome to the Velvet Room," Igor greeted the two, with the reminder that they were both in the Velvet Room, "it has been quite some time since we last saw you two. But morning makes haste, so we should not keep you here for too long."

"Firstly, Aigis..." Elizabeth spoke, turning to Aigis as she turned to her, "...I sense a trouble within your psyche. Is everything alright?" Upon being asked, Aigis only felt confused towards her vague question. But as her thoughts were cast back to the fight against Akihiko's Shadow, it became clear.

"I can't say for sure..." Aigis answered, "...it only happened just recently...with Orpheus..." She tried to explain what happened, but her mind was too exhausted from the fight to even form her words and sentences properly. Yu then joined in on her behalf. "It just went berserk when Aigis called it out. And after that, she was unable to fight anymore." After his explanation, Margaret and Elizabeth put on puzzled looks, but Igor's smile kept growing wider with interest.

"Hmm," Igor hummed, "Intriguing! Might I diagnose this condition of yours, my dear?" Hearing his creepy yet polite offer, Aigis held out her hand to materialise her Wild Card into her hand from the bright flames that surrounded her fingertips. Then Igor with his hand raised, called the card from Aigis's grasp into his, examining the card as it spun on its axis. The narrow pupils in his eyes darted from one corner of the card to the other, and it took a long while before a conclusion was made.

"I'm afraid I cannot say," he answered bluntly, "this is one of the first cases I've ever seen. But what I can safely say is that this Wild Card has malfunctioned, and as a result cannot summon Personas only of the Fool Arcana with full control over them." Igor's explanation of the symptoms of the malfunctioned Wild Card seemed legitimate to Yu and Aigis, but with the cause still unclear, it only deepened the mystery behind Aigis's Wild Card. Igor gently threw the Wild Card back to Aigis with a flick of his wrists and laid his elbows back onto the table. "In the meantime, we shall monitor you for further information." Igor said, in reassurance and confidence that he shall find the truth behind it.

Yu had questions of his own for Aigis. "Aigis, has this happened before with Orpheus or any Persona of the Fool?" he asked her, getting a shake of her robotic head, but then saw her mouth open. "No..." Aigis answered, having the need to say something else, "...but really, this Wild Card wasn't my own to begin with. My first and only Persona was Palladion."

Aigis's statement about her Wild Card only made Yu more confusing, and as his mouth opened to ask another question, she interrupted him with her answer. "It belonged to Minato...but after he passed away, I inherited it, and was able to summon his first Persona, Orpheus. But this is the first time it acted like this."

With the knowledge that Yu learnt from Aigis, a conflict started in his mind. The now malfunctioned Wild Card that once belonged to Minato just kept pulsing in his head. "Minato...he has to fit in with the haywire Wild Card somehow...but how?"

"Now, Yu..." his name was called by Margaret, snapping him out of his thoughtful state, "I'm sure many things have come across your path since the last time we saw you." Yu indeed did have many things, but he wanted to start off with the main question that needed answering.

"I had one in particular that I hoped that you would know about," Yu began, "I met a boy back in Inaba, but I couldn't see who he was because of his hood. Now he's in Iwatodai and now poses a threat to our stay there. He has all of Minato's belongings, including his Evoker and weapon. And I was hoping if you knew anything about him." Elizabeth put on a look of devastation after hearing about Minato's taken belongings, and Margaret could only watch her do this with worry.

Igor raised a hand again and swiped a hovering arm over the table, causing a blue smoke to rise from the indigo table-cloth. Shortly after, the smoke began to take shape as a body, and as the features were added, Yu knew that smoke statue that stood in from of him was the boy. But oddly, to Aigis, it looked like someone very familiar.

"Ah yes, the boy shrouded in mystery." Igor reminded himself with the statue of smoke, "I sense a dark aura around this boy. And as you say, he does pose a threat, not only to your companions, but also to your fate." he then gasped in fascination as he looked at the smoke more closely, "You may see him as a distraction and a lose of focus of what's ahead. But this boy is a necessary part to your destiny. It is unclear to say how, but keep that in mind."

Igor's answer to Yu's question only made him worry about the boy more than ever. The unclear parts of the boy that Igor spoke of stuck one thing into Yu's mind. He needed to see the boy again.

As Yu fell into deep thought, Igor gave another swipe of his wrist through the statue's body, watching the smoke dance away out of vision. "Morning shall rise soon. We shall leave you to return." Igor said as he lowered his head and closed his eyes.

Elizabeth then caught Yu's attention. "Yu..." she called, "...don't forget what I asked of you..." Yu didn't have any intention of forgetting it anytime soon, and gave a nod to the elder sister, confident that he would get Minato's body back, like he did when he promised Yukari.

"Until then...farewell." Igor dismissed Yu and Aigis before the feeling of drowsiness returned to them, putting a weight on their eyelids to force them shut. Yu was then left to return to his physical self, feeling the drifting sensation on his body carry him upwards back to reality.

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><p><em>0804 - Morning - The Real World_

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><p>When he was free to open his eyes again, he did so when his sight came back in unison with the sound of the heavy rain. And looking up at the ceiling, his thoughts started to come up with ideas for the day ahead of him. Unfortunately though, no thoughts could come to his head; not without a good breakfast first.<p>

**Short but sweet again! Anyway, I've got a new poll going on guys! Since Yu's name has also been coming up as Yu Narukami, the question will be the preference between Yu Narukami and Yu Narukami. But I'll leave that to you. Keep reading and reviewing, and VOTE! Until next time, CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Yukari: If you even dare talk about Minato like you're treating him as dirt... you both would be as good as dead!_

_Rise: You and Minato... He was the one for you wasn't he?_

_Yukari: Minato comforted me... He hugged me. He was a one-of-a-kind._

_Rise: We're friends now... We should always look out for each other._


	11. Reminiscing

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Eleven_

_Reminiscing_

**Hello! Bonjour! Hola! Konichiwa! And welcome to the eleventh chapter of the story! This is probably the longest I've been in writing in FanFic for some time now. Anyway, you remember when I was going to do a poll? Well, with some feedback regarding the name for Souji/Yu, I will change the name to Yu!. So, because of the early feedback about the name, there won't be a poll! Sorry! Maybe some other time! But for now...LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0804 - Midday_

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><p>Despite the heavy rain, the sky seemed more brighter than it did the day before and the days before that. And the reminder of the successful operation that saved Akihiko rewarded the team with a more uplifting mood. Rise was the one who took the full opportunity of this mood and weather by taking her stroll down to Paulownia Mall, feeling as if her days in Iwatodai felt like home to her. But without any contact from Yu or anyone else, she decided to go on her own.<p>

Rise went from shop to shop, using her designer beret to hide most of her familiar celebrity redhead from the public, even though there were no, if not, hardly any people there. Even the staff at the shopping tills were few but were still hard for her to walk past without any notice. But with all her effort of keeping a low profile, she managed to buy herself bags of clothes, a new handbag, and even a few postcards which had a picture of Rise's concert, depicting Rise's solos from perfect angles and some with Yu playing the guitar with masculine poses.

As she came out of 'Be Blue V', she suddenly heard some shouting over near the fountain. Looking over to where the source was, she found Yukari arguing with two boys who stood in front of her, as if they were cornering her. She made her way over, hearing the argument more clearly with every step.

"Yukari, c'mon!" one of the boys urged, attempting to use a smooth tone, "I swear you haven't been out with anyone in, like, two years! Just forget about Minato...whatever, and you can tag along with me. It's a win-win...I'm sure my wingman here will agree." The other boy who stood slightly behind the first one punched him upon being called a 'wingman'.

"Wingman? Are you shittin' me?" he yelled in high-temper, shaking a fist. Yukari looked disgusted at the two boys and Rise couldn't help but feel the same, using the power in her legs to walk over to her faster.

"Look, his name is Minato Arisato," Yukari shouted with stern, "and would you just get the hint? I will never 'tag along' with you, or your boyfriend here! And if you even dare talk about Minato like you're treating him as dirt...you both would be as good as dead!" The threat sounded very real to the two boys, and instantly took on board what Yukari had said, walking back with gestures that indicated their leave.

But then they both stopped when they saw Rise walked towards them with her new handbag gripped tightly in her hand. "Hey...is that Risette?" one of the boys said the other, quickly straightening themselves up and walking over to her with cool expressions.

"Ah, well good morning!" one of the boys greeted as he ran his hands though his waxy hair, "Care to join us?" Upon being asked, Rise had no intention of answering but instead gave a large swing of her handbag to the boy who asked out Yukari, somewhat surprised as to how heavy it was upon impact.

As the boy collapsed to the ground without a sound but with dizzy eyes, it was taken as a warning to the other boy who could only walk quickly away from a dangerous Rise, breaking a nervous sweat as he saw the large bruise appearing on his knocked out friend.

"Rise!" Yukari shouted for her when walking towards her, "Wow, you sure taught them a lesson or two. It must have been sheer luck that you were here when it happened." Rise didn't want to show her modesty towards the flattery, but gave her signature teenaged-idol wink to indicate her gratitude for the thanks. "Anything to help out a friend!" she replied.

Yukari sighed with a wry smile. "At least I can sit down in peace now..." she muttered, sitting down at a nearby bench that stood at the concrete of the fountain. Rise's arms felt the need to give way with the amount of bags she hung off of her elbows and wrists, and sat down with Yukari before her arms could ache even more.

She looked towards the collapsed boy which then sparked a conversation in her mind. "You seem to be very popular with the boys." she complimented her, but Yukari didn't seem to pleased about her trait. She only lowered her head, and when Rise saw this it sprung a question into her head. "I'm guessing you're not dating anyone at the moment, huh?"

"No. I don't want to..." Yukari answered with a shake of her head, "...every boy you see in Iwatodai thinks he's better than any other boy. And that's just one of the many qualities that I can't stand..." To Rise it seemed as if Yukari was ranting, but when she took a moment to calm down, her expression from slight irritation slowly turned into a look of nostalgia and yearn. "I wouldn't normally say this to anyone...but I'm really jealous of you, Rise."

Rise's eyes widened as she turned to her, almost in disbelief that someone who is nearly an adult would be jealous of someone who is a teenager. She chuckled in flattery. "You are?" she asked Yukari with some expression of seriousness, "Why?"

Yukari had a thought for the one thing she longed for that she couldn't have but Rise did. "Well...you have someone special in your life, to stick by their side and to hold their hand every day," Yukari began which brought about her thoughts of Minato more strongly as they came into mind, "I can't have that. Not anymore. And to have someone like Yu is like a rare thing these days. I know Minato was, and I saw the same thing in Yu."

Rise knew all that Yukari said to her, but after putting it into a different perspective, she remembered the times she and Yu spent together, from the rescue from the TV World to the present day. "He is different to every other boy...he's special to me." she spoke with a mumble to hide her blushes. But then she thought about Yukari and Minato, and couldn't help but feel sorry for her. "You and Minato..." she then changed the subject with a slight heartbreak, "...he was the one for you, wasn't he? You must've been so upset..."

"It was agony..." Yukari answered with emphasis, "...I even tried using cram school as an excuse to make myself look forward instead of dwelling on what happened. And that didn't work..." Rise could heard the nostalgic tone in Yukari's voice, and jumped in when there was a pause to find a more positive conversation.

"Well, if you don't want to look back to the past, we could always start looking forward now," Rise reassured Yukari rubbing her shoulder in comfort with a lighter question in mind, "Let's think of the happy memories...how did you first meet Minato?" And as the question was asked, a small smile slowly grew on Yukari's face, quelling the negativity from her expression.

"It was really weird at first...but we became friends real fast..." she chuckled weakly, "...when he first came into the dorm, it was midnight and it was really dark. Because it was the Dark Hour, I thought he was a Shadow at first." As Rise heard her story, she watched her smile growing with embarrasment which only made her smile with her. Yukari continued, "I had my Evoker at the ready, but I was only a new member of S.E.E.S at the time and I hadn't made my first summoning yet. You should've seen me...I was breathing and sweating like a lunatic. He must've thought I was crazy at the time. And just before I could pull out the Evoker, Mitsuru stopped me just in time. And from there, we became fast friends."

Yukari tried to hold back her giggle, but Rise didn't help at all by giggling with her. Rise then urged for another good memory. "So, when did it get serious?" she asked, and Yukari was all but willing to answer, remembering the memory so well.

She began with a sigh. "We all went on a trip to Yakushima to let off some steam. But one night we watched some doctored footage of my father causing the incident which ran the Shadows amok during an experiment. And after watching it, I ran out to the shore." She then looked up as she reminisced the memory to its full extent.

She continued, "That was when Minato comforted me...when he proved to me that he wasn't like all the other boys. I shouted at him at first, but even when I did, he didn't stop being kind, caring and supportive." Before she could end her story, her eyes closed to get a better view of her precious memory. "And then...he hugged me," she softly said, reliving her memory as she could somewhat feel Minato's body against hers like it felt all those years ago, "I swear that my heart just skipped a beat at that point. You could only get that with Minato, no-one else. He was a one-of-a-kind."

Yukari's tender story touched Rise and only made her to feel how she felt ever since Minato's body disappeared. Yukari could see it on her face and then wanted to know her story just to change the subject. "Anyway, how did you meet Yu?" she asked, already flooding Rise's head with memories that she held dear.

"Meeting Yu for the first time as well was really weird as well..." Rise began, as if it were a confession, "...we first met each other when I was working in my grandmother's tofu shop while I was taking a break from showbiz. But we weren't properly introduced then...until he came to rescue me with the rest of the guys from my Shadow." Yukari found Rise's story very interesting, especially with the knowledge that a celebrity began a relationship with a multi-talented boy.

Rise continued, "Then...things got serious when he comforted me one day when my manager told me that he replaced me with another girl. And I'll admit...I acted so much like a drama queen back then...but Yu was there for me, holding me, and caring for me. Any other boy would have just gone over the top with it. But he's so different in every way, a good way...a lovely way."

As Rise ended her say, she looked at Yukari and she looked at her. Yukari listened to every word she said and the relief she felt after telling her story was remedial, taking on board what her new friend had said about only remembering the good memories rather than dwelling on the worst. "Thanks, Rise," Yukari thanked with a friendly hug that Rise received and returned, "thank you for reminding me."

"Your welcome, Yukari. We're friends now...we should always look out for each other." Rise said in confirmation of their forming bond with one another.

When they ended their friendly embrace, they both decided to walk back to the dorm with one another, sharing the weight of Rise's shopping with one another. And when they walked a few steps from the bench, they looked behind them to see that the boy who tried to swoon the two was still laying on the floor in an abnormal position, hearing the occasional groan from his croaky voice.

"Erm...I think I might have concussed him..." Rise spoke her thoughts, somewhat worried if she had accidentally knocked an innocent unconscious. She didn't really care and neither did Yukari. Yukari could only giggle at Rise's remark as she looked towards Kurosawa's police station. "You were really lucky that Kurosawa was on his break period." she said, spreading her giggles to Rise.

They then made their way back, giggling in mischief after glancing at the boy's twitching body knowing that he got knocked out by a female artist. It was very much the highlight of their day.

**And there you go! The eleventh chapter! As I said before, there is no poll! But keep reading and reviewing, and in the meantime I will find a day to start production on the twelfth chapter! Until next time, CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Akihiko: My memory's too fuzzy to say... I only know that someone made me go in._

_Yu: The next time the Midnight Channel broadcasts, we should keep our minds open for our suspect._

_Ken: Why does the news always have to be bad?_

_Junpei: Crying won't bring anyone back; it does no good. Not Chidori, not Shinjiro... not Minato... no one._


	12. It Does No Good

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Twelve_

_It Does No Good_

**Hi-dee hi-dee ho! And welcome to the twelfth chapter my good people! Welp...looks like I'm back in college, so the chapter productions will be at a slow pace as of now until the end of term! And since there's no announcements at the moment, I don't see why we should wait any longer! LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0804 - Evening_

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><p>The downpour still continued outside the Tatsumi Hall on another strangely cold night, which only contributed to the comfort of those who managed to get back to the dorm before the sun fell under the horizon. The fireplace, even at an abnormal time of the year, was blazing with a warm, toasty heat which was fuelled by fresh logs that were set in the sweet spots of the fireplace.<p>

Everyone was gathered around the table with their dinners on their laps, eyes on the activated TV, and munching their way through the food with different speeds of their chopsticks. And knowing that it was of Yu's creations made it all the more delicious. "Well Yu," Yosuke spoke after pausing his ferocious eating as he swallowed his food, "you've succeeded in satisfying my stomach for another night!"

"You certainly don't aim to disappoint. Man, oh man, I wish bowlfuls of this kind of cooking were endless!" Akihiko then commented, gesturing his thanks with a formal hand. Everyone else, including Koromaru, gave their gratitude to their leader and cook with the same expressions that Yosuke and Akihiko gave. "I'm glad you all like it. It was a new recipe." Yu welcomed his received thanks.

And as usual, Teddie's portions kept stacking up, giving his thanks with flattering comments. "Urgh..." he mumbled as he held his slightly bloated stomach, "...I couldn't eat another bite...but it's too good to stop now..." They all giggled at Teddie's passion for food, especially when it came from the great cooking skills of Yu.

As Mitsuru lifted her head up in realisation, she wiped her lips with her provided napkin and turned toAkihiko. "I think we should discuss what happened to you, Akihiko. If you could give us any information, we could prevent this from happening again." she explained to him. He lifted his head up from his bowl after finishing his second helping, placing the bowl down on the small table in front of him.

He collected his thoughts together, but only get a vague picture of what really happened to him before he entered the TV. The image in his head was too unclear, and almost nothing could be said. "Well...all I remember is...just going into my TV back at my apartment...and that's just it," Akihiko explained with the limited memory that he had, but then something else came to mind, "but, I do remember someone being there to see me drop into it though."

Everyone put their eating on hiatus upon hearing the mention of a potential suspect who put Akihiko into the TV world. "Do you know who they were?" Fuuka asked, just as curious as everyone else was. But their hopes of finding a name for them were crushed when Akihiko gave a shake of his head. "My memory's too fuzzy to say...I only know that someone made me go in..."

"Now that you mention it," Yosuke spoke after him, also having thoughts on the mystery person, "I kinda remember someone pressuring me into the TV as well; when Saki appeared on the Midnight Channel...there was definitely someone there...but I'm in the same boat as you are, Akihiko. I can't remember who they were."

"I was taken victim as well, and I see no argument against that. My memory of it is little to none." Mitsuru then spoke her forgotten experience. Hearing the three victims' limited mentions of their memory only worried everyone else about the Midnight Channel more than they did before, let alone the shady figure which seemed to be the main cause for the slipping of one's own mind.

It may have been a small lead, but Yu had too many questions running through his mind, not only just with this mystery, but with the other mysteries that he came into contact with to even focus on it. Who was the one that made Yosuke and Akihiko enter the TV? What happened to Minato's body? Why did the Midnight Channel come back? But the question he felt the most uneasy about was, who is that boy in the hood?

But despite the lead, no one had a clue or a person in mind that would do this. Naoto only had ideas of ruling out people. "To narrow things down, we can safely say that Adachi isn't involved with this for obvious reasons," Naoto spoke her deductive thoughts, thinking as she talked, "but that only makes things more difficult. Do any of you have anybody in mind?"

The question was aimed at the members of S.E.E.S, but even they had a hard time finding some suspects. The only people they had in mind were ruled out as well. "We knew of a three man...I mean, two man group called 'Strega'," Yukari mentioned, being careful to not accuse a certain member that would've upset Junpei, "but they died during the Dark Hour...so really, we can only say that they're not the problem either."

Naoto took on the hardship with this kind of situation, and after a short while of thinking, she could only give partial information on the real suspect. "Then that only leaves us with this:" she said, organising her thoughts before explaining, "the suspect would have a good knowledge of the Midnight Channel and what its capable of. But the trouble with this is that their motives would involve having a good knowledge of us as well, or at least some of us if they were to know if we had any weaknesses."

Not only Naoto was baffled by the difficult situation, but everyone else was completely lost. But Yu did find one positive side to this. "It may be a bit of trouble now, but it's something that we can take on board..." he began, "...what I mean is that, the next time the Midnight Channel broadcasts, we should keep our minds open for our suspect. Three of us have experienced this already so we have some idea of what this person is capable of. But ultimately, do not watch it."

The advice and order that Yu gave seemed like something that would keep everyone awake every night, but they were all more than willing to follow and stay up until the morning to keep their eyes peeled for the figure.

As soon as the discussion was over, they all returned to their dinner, filling the holes in their stomachs that were caused from the duration of their talk together. Even after their short while of worry, they didn't stop to give up their appetite.

Their eyes were then drawn to the TV when the news' opening and jingle came onto the screen. And like on the other nights before, the topic was on another discovery relating to Minato's death. _"More breaking news tonight as yet another body has been discovered to have a connection with the death of Minato Arisato," _began the nicely suited male news-reporter, _"a young girl named Chidori Yoshino was also pronounced dead two years ago; a few months before Arisato, and is now part of the chain of deaths that have a still, unknown, connection with him."_

Upon hearing the name of the deceased person and seeing a clear image of the girl in the corner of the screen, Junpei's head fell to the floor, using his baseball cap to hide his expression. He then laid his plate and chopsticks in front of him on the table and stood up from the sofa. "Sorry..." Junpei apologised to Yu, "...I'm wasn't very hungry tonight...but thanks for the food man..." Yu noticed the saddening tone from Junpei and felt sympathetic upon realisation when he pieced the puzzle together with him and the girl that appeared on the TV. He knew that Junpei just wanted space and reassured him with a nod of the head.

Junpei then walked away from the group, walking upstairs with his head down the floor with his eyes hidden in the caps shadow. Some of the group knew what was going on with him, and gave a sigh as he left. "Poor Junpei-kun..." Fuuka mumbled to herself.

When the news on Chidori ended, a female news-reporter suddenly appeared on the screen with a quick cut from the camera. _"In other news," _she began after straightening her papers and adjusting her spectacles, _"two days from now a memorial will be held at Naganaki Shrine to commemorate the deaths of the monks who studied there. Meteorologists say that the heavy downpour will not be a problem on the day."_ And image in the corner of the TV was then shown, which immediately caused Koromaru to walk up to the screen, tapping the screen with his paw while whimpering and whining in sadness.

"Aww, what's the matter boy?" Yukiko asked with a soft voice to the canine companion, walking over to him to comfort him with strokes and pats. But Koromaru didn't want to take notice of them. His tail drooped to the floor and his whines grew louder the more he looked at the image.

"Koro-chan..." Aigis called his name with sympathy, "...that must have been his master before he was killed in an accident..." Everyone couldn't help but feel so upset when Koromaru continued his whimpers. But as the image came off the screen, Koromaru quickly ran away from the group on his trembling legs, scampering up the stairs in his devastation.

Seeing two heartbreaks seemed too much, and Ken reached for the remote to turn off the TV in case any other news was being presented. "Why does the news always have be bad?" he asked himself, but clearly for everyone to hear. He took the question right from everyone's mouths.

And like that, all their appetite's were lost, pushing their plates aside on the table. "Shall we start clearing up?" Yu asked as he stood up, picking up his dinner, which was then offered to be taken by Akihiko. "We'll do the cleaning up," he said as he took Yu's plate, "I'm kinda worried about Junpei and Koromaru as much as everyone else is. Could you check up on them?"

With a nod of his head, Yu walked away to the stairs, climbing up while turning on the lights as he ascended to the boy's rooms on the second floor. The hallway was dark when he reached it, and when he turned on the lights, the room was lit. And sat at the wall near his door were Junpei and Koromaru, comforting each other. Their heads that were down to the floor slowly turned to Yu as he approached them.

"Oh, hey Yu..." Junpei croaked with a sniffle, "...sorry about me walking off...I mean, I feel like crying...but I shouldn't be. Real men don't cry, huh?" He forced a wide smile on his face, but Junpei knew he couldn't fake it and faded his smile back into his upset look, "...Who am I kidding?"

Yu respected Junpei for trying to be happy, but he knew that he needed some support from his friend, and as a friendly gesture, Yu sat down with back against the wall next to him, giving Koromaru some space and attention.

"It's okay to cry," Yu said, almost in reassurance to Junpei, "we do sometimes just force ourselves to hold it back. But then sometimes, we just need a release...is that what you're feeling right now?"

"Yeah...but I don't want to...crying won't bring anyone back, it does no good. Not Chidori, not Shinjiro...not Minato...no-one." Junpei explained his thoughts, clearing his throat mid-sentence to rid himself of the pain that was lodged into his throat. He even had thoughts as to if Koromaru felt the same.

"Were you and Chidori close friends?" Yu asked, trying to form a conversation in the hope that Junpei might feel better. Junpei shook his head, which at first confused Yu. "No...we were more than that, so much more...well, we could have been..." he began, delving into his mind for even the most obscurest memories of Chidori and him, "...she was the first girl I was really serious with...it was love at first sight I suppose. That never happens with me..." As a genuine chuckle was heard from Junpei, Yu smiled with him at his jokey remark of himself.

"I'm guessing you want to know how she died?" Junpei asked, as if it was the next obvious thing Yu was going to ask. But Yu quickly shook his head. "No, of course not. It would only make you more upset. I wouldn't do that." he replied, already making Junpei see a special friend in his new companion.

Yu then turned to Koromaru. "And I suppose you miss your master, huh?" he asked the pup, stroking his gently for comfort. Junpei also turned his attention to Koromaru. "Like Aigis said, his master died in an accident. And ever since he did, Koromaru would wait at the shrine waiting for him to come back..."

Hearing Koromaru's heartbreaking story may have made Yu touched emotionally, but at the same time, he respected him as well. "Well Koromaru," Yu began, "I bet he's looking down on you right now. And if he is, he would be so proud of you." Yu's truthful words with his gentle affectionate stroking gave Koromaru back some happiness, getting an occasional wag of his tail.

"You really are something, Yu," Junpei commented as he placed a friendly hand on Yu's shoulder, "just one conversation with you can make anyone better. Thanks for the talk. And you know what, you're right. It is good to have a release...I mean, I just got something off my chest to someone who I've only known for a few days. So...thanks, man."

Yu welcomed Junpei's gratitude by placing his own hand on his new friend's shoulder, indicating his will to back him up whenever he was in need. Koromaru gave his thanks by standing on Yu's lap and supporting himself up to his face with his two paws on his chest.

"It's been some night..." Junpei cursed his luck with a sigh, chuckling with Yu at the comical side of it. Yu then stood up from his seat, followed by Junpei and Koromaru. "I think we should turn in early." Yu suggested.

And on that note, Yu and Junpei said their goodnights to each other and Koromaru ran back downstairs with the others. For the rest of the night, Junpei tried to avoid pressing any wrong buttons on the remote in case he turned on the news channel, and Yu laid in his bed dwelling on the question of who the mystery figure who put Yosuke, Mitsuru and Akihiko into the TV.

But it only took one short moment to think of the only person who seemed the most likely to do such a thing. "That boy..." he thought to himself. The idea wasn't only just stuck in his mind. It bugged him, disturbed him, and the thoughts of seeing that boy again only added to the worry that he had. The worry he started with generated from his anxiety for what he might see on the Midnight Channel. And knowing that it would air anytime soon made his stomach churn.

**Whew! College really sucks the life out of you whilst you're doing this kind of thing! Anyway, keep reading and reviewing, and I will cook up another fine chapter for you all! CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_?: Do you know if there's anything good on the TV tonight? You are quite savvy with it after all._

_Yu: What are you calling me for? How did you get my number?_

_?: I would get to your friend's room if I were you. You'll find my proof there._

_Yu: Junpei? Junpei! Open the door!_


	13. Double Feature

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Thirteen_

_Double Feature_

**Aaaaand welcome back to the story! This is the thirteenth chapter! Yet again though guys, no announcements, so there shouldn't be any time to stall and quickly get to the catchphrase...please read after the- LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0804 - Late Night_

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><p>Only just minutes staying awake in bed felt like hours to Yu as his anticipation for the Midnight Channel's broadcast grew to new heights. The only thing that kept him occupied during the time was watching the raindrops on his window race each other as they shone in a glowing moonlight to the bottom of the window pane. And with every minute passing, he checked his cell phone for the time, aching with impatience for midnight.<p>

"C'mon...c'mon..." he whispered to himself, eager and ready to watch the TV as if he was waiting for a horror movie. But when his expectations rose to its peak, a sudden ringtone was heard from his cell phone, startling him slightly when the loud noise alerted him in the dark and quiet.

And as he looked at the phone's front, a number shone up in a bright font; an unknown number which he had never come across before. His first thoughts were of who would call him at this time at night, but the more he looked at the number, the more ominous it seemed. He was hesitant to take the call at first, but he knew that it would probably continue calling him if he ignored it.

Reluctantly, he flipped open the cell phone and pressed it against his ear with the mouthpiece held closely to his teeth. "Hello?" he asked for a response, keeping his composure with a husky voice. There was an uncomfortable pause at first, but soon enough a familiar voice was heard from the other end of the line. It wasn't so much a voice, but an evil chuckle which he recognised. And the loathing feeling he felt inside reminded him of the one who he felt that way towards. It was the boy in the hood.

"_Do you know if there's anything good on the TV tonight?" _he asked with mockery, _"You are quite savvy with it after all." _Yu didn't know whether to interpret what he said as an unwanted compliment or an undermining insult, but he wasn't having any of it. "What are you calling me for? How did you get my number?" he asked the boy, already fed up of talking to him. But nonetheless, he wanted some answers from the boy rather than the usual vagueness that he used in every conversation, which inevitably he got.

"_The details aren't important. I called you for a reason..." _the boy replied without providing the answers Yu needed, _"...but I'll be fair, it wasn't very sporting of me to keep leaving you with unanswered questions. So to compensate, I'll shed some light on what will happen tonight..."_

Yu desperately needed some form of answer to fill the holes and was more than willing to listen to the boy and what he had to say, even though it seemed too promising to be true. "...I'm listening." he replied, opening his intent ears for anything crucial.

"_Alright then," _the boy said in readiness, _"you want to know about the guy who put your friends into the TV, huh? And I think that you're having suspicions of me being responsible for it. Am I right?" _Yu felt annoyed at the boy's quick learning and intelligence, but he couldn't deny it. He didn't reply knowing that the silence would give the answer away. It only made it more amusing for the boy, but the continued, _"Well, to narrow things down, and to make things easier for you...it's not me."_

Yu's eyes widened to his statement. He knew that he was telling the truth, hearing that distinct sound of honesty in his voice blend in with his tone of mockery. And because of it, it only gave the slightest, yet unnoticeable bit of clarity. Yu felt cheated. "That doesn't help me with anything!" Yu shouted in a whisper, "If you're going to shed any light, I'm going to need something brighter than that!"

"_Calm down, I'm getting to it..." _the boy breathed in a sigh, yet again insulting Yu, _"...by now you should have an idea of who will appear on the Midnight Channel tonight, right?"_

"Yeah. I've got a couple of ideas in mind. But I don't want to know that," Yu replied, unable to contain his anger, "just give me a straight answer. Who is putting people into the TV?"

"_Now that would be telling." _the boy antagonised.

"...What is the point of even talking to you about it?"

"_Hey, your the nephew of a police detective. Don't blame me if you haven't found out for yourself."_

"I might have already figured it out. How I can believe that you aren't the one putting our friends into the TV? You're the only one who is capable of doing this. I mean, you know about Personas, you know about the Midnight Channel, about S.E.E.S. There's no one else I can accuse but you, just based on that evidence!"

"_Then I'll just present my evidence against your accusation right after what's being shown on the TV now."_

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><p><em>0805 - Midnight_

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><p>Hearing the boy's comeback instantly turned Yu's head towards the TV. The screen was blank for a short moment, but when flickers of static and staccatos of white noise combined to create an unsettling atmosphere, Yu's expression turned from hatred to shock, not only when the murky green colour filled the room with a swampy glow, but also when he saw that, not one, but two silhouettes appeared in a shady black against the buzzing of the screen.<p>

The first figure looked like a female figure, and could just make out the gothic theme in the clothes from its shape and the dagger-like outline that crossed her head. The other figure was bald which did give away that it was of a male gender. The distinction in the outline suggested that this person was of old age and upon closer inspection, the clothes he wore looked like robes. But crucially, like the other silhouettes before, these two struck Yu as very familiar.

"_Now, I would get to your friend's room if I were you," _the boy spoke with confidence through Yu's cell phone earpiece, _"you'll find my proof there. Then you can apologise to me later."_ Yu felt weak towards the boy's superiority over him, and hearing his cynical tone of voice made it all the more damaging to Yu's evidence.

He then focussed on the TV screen, examining the silhouettes more closely. As he thought back to the night before, he remembered his talk with Junpei and Koromaru, especially remembering how they felt at the time. And when he cast his mind back further, he recalled the news reports on the discovery of a girl and the memorial of the Naganaki Shrine monks. And that was when he realised the connections when he pieced them together in his head. He quickly ended the call and flipped his cell phone closed.

The realisation kicked into his reflexes and instantly caused him to leap out of his bed, heading towards the door and sprinting through the porch towards Junpei's door, which fortunately was only a short distance away from his room. As soon as he reached the door, he twisted and turned the lock in a wild frenzy, knocking the door with a hard fist to try and get Junpei's attention. "Junpei? Junpei! Open the door!" he shouted through the gaps in the porch. But after a long while of rinsing and repeating the process, there was no answer.

He had thoughts of breaking the door down, but thinking about the thickness of the door put him off. All he could do was put his ear to the door, searching for any sound from Junpei or anyone who was inside.

Suddenly, a sound of whining was heard, which immediately gave Yu the idea that Koromaru was inside. He could then hear a muffled conversation between two people, one of them sounding like Junpei.

"Is this...Chidori...?" spoke the nervous voice of Junpei. Yu was worried to know who he was questioning. But then another voice, belonging to a male, was heard. "What you long for is what you see. If it's in your best interest, reclaim what you have lost."

Straight away, Yu knew there was something wrong about that person. The voice didn't belong to the boy, but to make things worse, it sounded strikingly familiar. He couldn't think of who that voice belonged to, but the worries kept growing in Yu the more he dwelled on how it sounded so very familiar.

During his shock, he was then interrupted by the sound of the many sprinting footsteps coming towards him and Junpei's room. And as he turned towards the source, everyone came rushing towards the door with Mitsuru in front of the group with a master key in hand.

Yu quickly got out of the way and allowed Mitsuru to unlock the door, instantly swinging the door wide open with a rapid twist of the lock. But as everyone rushed through in the hope to prevent the inevitable, there was no sign of Junpei, and even worse, no evidence left behind. All that was left of the scene was the TV, continuously blaring its white noise with flickers of static black and white with taints of green.

"He's not here?" Fuuka asked with confusion. It may not have been obvious to some people at the time, but the TV did seem like it was trying to say something. "No, he was definitely in here with Koromaru." Yu replied, somewhat annoyed at the thought of him not being able to stop it. Everyone gave recoils when he mentioned Koromaru being a victim alongside Junpei. Yu then remembered the mystery voice. "The person who put Yosuke, Mitsuru and Akihiko was in here as well."

"So we now know that there is definitely a culprit involved with this." Naoto added, but was less hopeful of Yu being able to identify the person. "Did you manage to find out who they were?" Aigis then asked, getting a shake of the head from Yu.

"All I know is that the person's male..." he said as if making a small contribution, suddenly recalling the familiar voice that irritated him when he continued to think about it, "...but you should've heard his voice. It sounded so much like someone we know. But I can't think of who would have that voice..."

Some of the others from the Investigation Team wished that they were with Yu when this happened to give him some clarity. But for the time, it was, yet again, another mystery amongst others that needed answers.

"N-Never mind though, we'll worry about that later," He dismissed the thought from everyone's heads, focussing them on the task at hand, "with the way things have gone with the Midnight Channel at the moment, there will be a possibility that we'll be facing two Shadows this time around. But all the same, we can't lose valuable members of our team."

Some of the team weren't ready for Yu's reaction to get straight to the point. But they all understood his will to bring them back quickly as well as safely. And even though the answer was obvious, Rise felt the need to remind everyone of his great leadership. "So, are we leaving for the TV world tonight?"

Yu nodded with confidence. "Let's get dressed and get our equipment together. We've got a busy night tonight, but I don't see anyone who's tired here. So, all the more reason to get right to it."

The situation might have been dire, but everyone knew how fortunate they were to have a leader who keeps and cares his friends and teammates with a calm attitude in times of urgency and anxiety. They all took Yu's order and walked away back to their own rooms, readying themselves for what seemed like an unusually difficult night, especially when the Shadows have gained two cohorts and the group have lost the same amount.

It was a two-up, two-down situation, and it did call for some doubts. But all they had to remember was that they had two Wild-Card users on their side.

**Well, bit short, but there's a chapter for you! Anyway, keep reading and review, and I will get to work on the next chapter somewhere when I have a gap in my schedule at college! CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Yu: You're the one putting everyone into the TV._

_?: Guilty as charged. I'm just there to give them a little incentive._

_Yu: How can I not blame you?_

_Shadow Junpei: Just leave me here... I'm happy here; Chidori's here with me. I can finally be at peace!_


	14. Magatsu Memorial

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Fourteen_

_Magatsu Memorial_

**Hi-de ho guys! Just one quick announcement...there is now a new poll out! If you go to the top of my profile page, you will asked if you would like some background music in these fanfics. So please, do give a few seconds of your time to vote, but for now, sit back and relax...LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0805 - Midnight_

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><p>"Here you go, Aki!" Teddie offered his bear paw to Akihiko with enthusiasm, holding out a pair of Teddie glasses in the hope that he would like them. Akihiko found it slightly strange at first, but when he saw everyone else wearing those glasses, he took his pair with gratitude, placing them over his vision with a good fit.<p>

"Hmm, these aren't half bad." he commented on the motif of his glasses. He knew that Teddie thought the design out thoroughly, admiring the fact that they were actually pilot shades that had dark brown rims and slightly tinted specs. He gave a thumbs up to Teddie with a grin. "Well, it looks like we're ready," he then said, turning to Yu, "shall we get going?"

"Let's go." Yu replied as he approached Mitsuru's TV, eager to bring Junpei and Koromaru back to the surface. As Yosuke stood at his side, they both climbed into the screen together and made their way to the bottom of the black and white corridor, holding back their tickled, churned stomached with ease.

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><p><em>0805 - Midnight - The TV World_

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><p>And as they helped everyone out of the TV stack, they could only look at the TV world with yet another expression of disgust, hoping that the distance between them and a possible dungeon was only a short walk. But the question of trek length all depended on Rise and Fuuka's Personas.<p>

The two supports stood near the edge of the far platform and drew out their Evokers to swiftly call forth Kanzeon and Juno. They both scanned the large acres of murk while everyone waited in patience for their verdict. And as they were doing this, something caught Yu's eye.

He brought up his hand to his forehead to shade the stage-lighting from his eyes, and looked carefully at what seemed to be a large structure that stood darkly in the huge mass of mist and fog. His first instincts were that it was a dungeon, and quickly knew right away that it was their destination. "Rise, Fuuka," Yu called for them, "is that it?"

The two turned towards where Yu was pointing and scanned around that general area. But as they did, they looked slightly confused, which seemed strange to Yu since he was able to just see it with his own eyes. "Urm...I can't see anything..." Fuuka confirmed. "Yeah, I don't see anything either," Rise added, "are you sure you saw something, Senpai?"

"Of course, it's right...huh?" Yu said, at first with certainty, but was then cut off mid-sentence when he looked back at the shady structure. Shockingly, it was gone, and there was literally no sign of it. Yu knew that he'd seen something, but even as he squinted to block out any fog, he still couldn't see it. "But...how can that...?" he thought to himself, refusing to believe that his sight was deceiving him.

"It might just be the fog, Senapi..." Kanji said in reassurance, also having a hard time as much as everyone else is trying to find what Yu saw. Yu found his cause plausible, but even so, it slightly irritated him.

A short while of silence passed, and the fog didn't seem to let up to even reveal a small fraction of Yu's discovery. But during that time, Rise and Fuuka finally got a lead. "I think we got something!" Rise shouted for everyone's attention. As they both dismissed their Personas, everyone came to them, ready for whatever distance they were about to travel.

"They're in that direction," Fuuka said pointing towards an area which everyone could see to be a large plume of fog. It seemed very close, so fortunately, no time could be wasted on covering a large distance on foot.

Without another word, they started their walk towards the dome-shaped wilderness of thick fog, adjusting their Evoker holsters and weapons to fully prepare themselves for the task ahead, no matter how long they thought it would take. They knew that it was two Shadows that they would be dealing with. And even though they knew that Koromaru was a small canine and that Junpei was the clumsy one, they all definitely knew what they were capable of, especially when they are both together; both as physical beings, and, in time, both as Shadows.

Within a few short minutes, they had already covered half of their journey towards a potential dungeon and the nerves were already kicking in. But Yu was more focused on the structure. He fixated his eyes on the same place that it appeared in, still feeling annoyed at how well hidden it was behind the fog. That is, if there was a structure. He tried to take his mind off of it and concentrated on the path he was walking.

A question came to Naoto's mind. "The two silhouettes on the Midnight Channel tonight..." she began, with her question being aimed at those of S.E.E.S, "...I gathered that they have some connection with both Junpei and Koromaru. But, may I ask as to who they were? Were they people you knew well?"

Instantly, horrible memories came flooding back into their minds, bringing tidal-waves that reminded them of the turmoil. "Well..." Mitsuru spoke, reluctantly recollecting her memories together to answer Naoto's question, "...we never knew him, but Koromaru's master was once a monk who took his studies at the Naganaki Shrine. He might have been a scholar there. And like we mentioned earlier on this evening, he died in an accident."

"Before we found him, Koromaru waited at the Shrine ever since his master died." Akihiko joined the conversation, speaking for Mitsuru after he saw her look that indicated her reluctancy to say anything more. "He waited?" Yukiko asked, "What was he waiting for?"

"For his master to return." Akihiko answered with his husky voice. Upon hearing his reply, the members of the Investigation Team felt a jerk in their heart. But then, another part of the question was yet to be answered.

"And then Chidori..." Fuuka then added, already losing her will to share the horrible memories with everyone else. Yukari comforted her, and even though she didn't want to, she decided to tell the rest. "Well...you know how Junpei can be a bit flirty at times?" she asked, getting nods from the Investigation Team, "Chidori was the first girl he was really serious with. And she even conquered her fear of death..." Yukari left a pause to think about her words carefully before speaking again. She continued, "...and if she didn't give up her own life for Junpei's, he would have died instead of her."

After hearing of both Junpei and Koromaru's devastating losses, no one couldn't stomach any more bad news. Yu may have heard the same stories for a second time, but when he eventually heard of Chidori's death, the sympathy he felt for Junpei worsened.

The conversations then ended in silence and not another word was the said. They had to focus on getting their friends back now. They knew that looking back on the worse aspects on their reasons for being victimised into the TV would lower their guard emotionally.

As they entered the small area of bulking fog, the familiar smell of evil rose up to their noses which made every whiff of the aroma very repugnant, possibly more after the last time they delved into the stench. The path they travelled on wasn't visible for a short while, but eventually, they started to enter into the core of the area. Strangely, when they continued to walk closer to their destination, the fog started to lift very slowly, revealing a large area of concrete ground when they all expected to find a dungeon.

They all looked around for any sign of interest, but all they found was just stagnant fog and a few large cracks in the concrete. A long while passed just trying to find anything, and when they returned to the group, they started to get worried.

"Seriously? There's nothing here?" Chie spoke aloud her thoughts, snatching the question from everyone's mouths. They all searched carefully around the small parts of area which they restricted their search to, and anywhere in the fog would be too difficult.

"Fuuka, Rise," Aigis called for the two, "we may need your help again." They both nodded to the humanoid android and walked towards a open space from the group to call forth their Personas for the second time that night. As Kanzeon and Juno crept our of the navy embers, they both scanned the obscurity around themselves, desperately searching for what they found before.

Fortunately, the did find it again, but it was moving. Both Rise and Fuuka's perception of what they sensed was being confused as it moved from left to right and right to left. They turned their heads every time they felt it near them. But what made it more unnerving was the it from coming from deep within the fog.

Rise and Fuuka knew that they couldn't do the search on their own and needed the help from everyone else from all the head-turning which caused their dizziness. "Everyone!" Fuuka called for their attention, "It's in the fog. But watch out for it...it's moving all over the place!"

And with that, everyone took Fuuka's order and headed into the fog, calming their nerves and collecting their composures before running head-first into what would be seen by many as a thick smokescreen. They all split up to cover more ground, but as they sprinted deeper and deeper, they all regretted that decision and where they would end up made them feel lonesome as well as fearful.

Yu went further than anyone else into the fog, looking around his surroundings for any sign of movement. But all he could see was fog, even his Teddie glasses were working to their full potential and it was still blocking out his sight to even see his own feet. All he could tell was that he was lost, and he can't remember which direction he ran in. He just waited in the spot he was standing in, hoping that something would accidentally appear near him.

A long while of uncomfortable silence passed and Yu was getting nowhere; he knew he had to get back to the others. But before he did, he focused his only means of sight on the wisps of mist that weaved in, out and around his body and took his time to reflect, mainly on the events that had happened, but especially on his new black-hooded enemy.

He sighed to clear his thoughts and closed his eyes to block out the sight of the surroundings. "Why is everything happening all at once?" he thought to himself, "It has to be that guy, there's absolutely nobody else to blame all of this on." He then started to remember all that has happened with the boy ever since he first met him, and started to dig away at the bits of information he's gathered up on him.

"Let's see..." he spoke in his thoughts, bringing up an image of the black hood to the surface, "He knows about Personas. And since he has Minato's belongings...he's able to have access to his Evoker and his sword...come to mention it, he did know how to handle that sword well..." He rubbed the side of his cheek, pressing the plaster against his skin to re-stick it. He continued, "...I asked him for information on Mitsuru and he seemed to answer it perfectly fine, and he definitely knew who Yukari was by his knowledge of the cell phone strap."

The pieces were slowly coming together, but the more he came to realise it, the more he didn't want to believe who he thought who the boy really was. The thought of the person under the hood was just too shocking to even come to terms with.

But then he focused on the one responsible for bringing his teammates into the TV. Even though he heard a different voice behind Junpei's door, he wasn't fully convinced that there was different person besides the boy. "He clearly has a good intellect, so I don't see why he wouldn't be the one who put Junpei and Koromaru in the TV tonight." He then came out of his thoughts. "Who else could I accuse?" he asked himself in the confidence of what he's learnt from his deductions.

Shortly after, footsteps were heard coming from behind Yu, instantly turning his attention towards the source of the noise, which sounded very much like walking boots that resonated in the air with a thunderous echo. Yu looked in the direction which heard the footsteps from and gradually, he could see an outline of a shady figure forming in the fog. And as it came closer, the more clear the mystery person was becoming.

"I'm sure you don't hear this very much in your typical detective shows very often," the figure spoke with the voice that Yu heard earlier tonight, "but you could accuse me." Yu knew that the voice belonged to the one he heard behind Junpei's door, and as the person stepped into the area which Yu was standing in, the features became fully clear.

The person was almost, if not very close to Yu's height, and seemed slightly taller than the other boy. His body was as slender as his shoulders were. But nothing of his true appearance was shown. Annoyingly for Yu, this person also had a hood covering his facial features, but what's different was the coat that he was wearing. He wore a brown casual trench-coat that fitted comfortably around his chest and waist and his sleeves rolled up just under his elbows. He wore dark trousers that were slim-fitting around his legs, along with dark brownish boots that were fitted with a metal buckle.

Yu knew that this boy was working with the other one, judging by the choice in clothes and by the trend of shrouding his face in a hood. His appearance startled Yu slightly, and it inclined him to raise his katana up to eye-level, pointing the blade towards the hooded figure. "That voice..." Yu muttered, "...you're the one putting everyone into the TV."

"Guilty as charged." the boy replied with an devilish chuckle. It may have seemed strangely easy to finally find it out, but Yu was satisfied with the way in which one of his questions were answered. He finally knew who was throwing the people into the TV. "But..." the boy spoke again, making it so uneasy for Yu to even want to hear what he was about to say.

"...It's not so much 'putting' them in. I'm just there to give them that little incentive," he explained, "so really, you can't blame me or anyone else for this 'crime'."

Yu was slightly confused at the boy's explanation, but did find some sense in what he was saying, even though he didn't want to believe it. He thought back to Konishi's second appearance on the Midnight Channel to the recent appearances that happened that night, and he found a correlation between all of the Midnight Channel's broadcasts during the week. Not getting a definite answer was frustrating enough.

"How can I not blame you? If you're the one who's talking people into coming into this world, then you're just exacerbating the situation. That's clearly something." Yu counter-argued.

The boy shook his head and took a few steps forward towards Yu. As Yu watched him confidently do this, he held his katana up higher and rested his free hand on his Evoker in preparation for an unexpected attack. The boy spoke again, "Blame me all you want, but you're just fooling yourself. The reason the people come here is out of weakness. So I don't think I have to say anything more than this: humans are just victims of themselves. Don't you agree?"

Yu wanted to argue against his statement, but as his mind processed what he said, he couldn't help but find sense in what he said. The appearances on the Midnight Channel up to this point during the week completely showed what the boy was talking about. Yosuke ended up in the TV out of his yearning for Konishi's life and same was said for everyone else. The boy seemed like he wanted an answer to his question, but Yu didn't want to offer anything. "I'm not going to answer that..." he replied.

"I wasn't expecting you to," the boy said, as if he wanted to challenge Yu's attitude of pacifism towards him, "I just came to clear things up. I won't waste your time any longer." And with that, the boy walked away into the deep fog. Yu watched him as he did this and brought his katana back down to his side. And just as the boy completely disappeared in the mist, he raised his arm with his hand in a formation that looked as if he was about to give a snap of his fingers. When his outlined vanished, a clicking sound echoed from different directions.

Instantly, the fog suddenly cleared around Yu with a soft gust of wind, sweeping the thick air towards a different part of the TV world. Yu watched this happen and then looked back in the direction which the boy was walking in. Hearing that click of the fingers with the sudden change in surroundings was too ominous to be just coincidence. He understood what that boy was capable of, and he knew that he just made a new enemy.

As he turned to the front of him, a large flight of stone stairs were seen. He looked up, but because of the remaining fog, he could only look as far as the stairs went. But nonetheless, he found the way.

"Guys! This way!" Yu shouted for everyone with both hands in the shape of a speakerphone to cast out his message further. He didn't want to wait in case of wasting any more time and made his way towards the stairs.

But as soon as he took just a couple of steps, a small dog-like figure was seen scampering up a few steps which instantly caught Yu's attention. "Hey!" he shouted for the tiny figure, immediately turning its body round to him. When it did, it was indeed a dog, but his eyes were of a glowing yellowish shade that were reminiscent to those of Shadow eyes. But the features all belonged to Koromaru, who had now indeed become a Shadow.

The Shadow Koromaru gave a growl at Yu before turning back round to run up the stairs. Yu quickly tried to follow him, sprinting up the stairs and skipping a few stairs with each step to refrain himself from losing any precious time. He fixated his eyes on Koromaru for the whole ascendance, dreading to see what is at the top of the stairs after seeing what the loyal canine had become.

It was a tough climb, but Yu eventually made it to the top, hunching over and holding his knees to catch his breath. But there was no time to rest, not now. As he began jogging in the direction Koromaru was running in, he was straight away halted by a horrible sight.

In front of him was of a stone statue that seemed to resemble that of a memorial. But it was tainted with darkness and shades of green, and there were words etched into it constantly saying 'Chidori' and 'Master' down the stone. That was only the centrepiece of what it was standing in. Around the memorial and Yu were small buildings that seemed to look like shrines that had altars sheltered under their roofs. Yu didn't feel the need to catch his breath anymore. The gasps he took after witnessing an awful landscape did it for him.

"This world isn't so bad after all." said a voice that caught Yu's attention, turning his body towards the source. The voice, as always, merged two voices together, one of which was familiar. Stood in front of him was Junpei, already donning the yellow eyes and dark complexion. But he was also holding the hand of what seemed like a spirit.

Like all of the other spirits before her, her appearance glowed in the murkiness of the TV world with a radiant, crystal light and her body was slightly transparent. The spirit girl Junpei was holding hands had long, straight red hair that hung to her waist and she wore white gothic clothing that shone brilliantly in her light. In his mind, Yu remembered her from the news, and even remembered her name that was spelt out on the memorial stone; Chidori.

Strangely, she looked like she was in pain as Junpei squeezed Chidori's ghostly hand rather than holding it gently.

And on Junpei's right, Koromaru was standing beside him on all four strong legs, dipping his head so that only his angered yellow eyes were seen. But behind the canine was yet another spirit that shone against his dark fur. The spirit was of a bald old man with robes that consisted of a reflective silk, and his back was hunched as a result of the old age. Yu also remembered this man from the news as well, and reminded himself correctly that it was Koromaru's old master; a monk who studied at the Naganaki Shrine.

"You even told us yourself," Junpei's Shadow spoke again with a discorded tone, "that this world was built out of human desire. I don't know why I didn't come here years ago!" As Junpei grew a grin on his malicious face, multiple footsteps were heard from behind Yu, followed by the rest of the group that joined their leader was weapons ready at hand.

"Junpei..." Yu called for his grieved friend, "...this world is destroying you. If you keep living in the dark, you'll not only be living a lie, you'll be consumed by the many lies here!"

Koromaru gave a husky bark in disagreement and snarled with Junpei who was also not so convinced by Yu's plea. "Why? Why should I return to that world?" Junpei asked of Yu, "Sure, it has its fair share of lies, but what about the truth in it? The truth is harsh! Are you saying I should live a harsh life? My life up there is a living hell! It's shit! Just leave me here...I'm happy here; Chidori's here with me. I can finally be at peace!"

No one could believe what Junpei was saying and some of the group looked at Chidori for any response to that, which worryingly she didn't. They looked to Koromaru's master and even he didn't have any words of wisdom for his loyal companion or Junpei.

"Besides, what would you know?" Junpei asked again in a shout, "Does it even matter if we live a lie when we are happy? Or would you give up your own happiness for the truth that will only make you miserable?" Upon being asked, Yu or anyone else for that matter, had no intention of answering. Yu wasn't having this.

"I'm sorry, Junpei..." Yu apologised, holding up this katana in his battle stance and sent the group to different places around what is going to be, a battlefield. They all took their positions and prepared themselves for a fight. Yu then said with a low tone, "...but this is going to sting."

**And there you are...another cliffhanger! Anyway, keep reading and reviewing and get ready for another chapter (hopefully soon, because I am now on holiday!). Oh! And also, VOTE! Until next time guys! CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Akihiko: Man, this Shadow's fast... Junpei's train of thought can't even go at half this speed!_

_Kanji: Sorry about this, pooch!_

_Shadow Junpei: You don't want me to live in this world because of its lies... but yet you still live in a world that is full of them!_

_Yu: Fore!_


	15. Swords, Bats And Sharp Teeth

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Fifteen_

_Swords, Bats And Sharp Teeth_

**Hello again guys! Pretty odd title for the chapter this time around huh? Anyway, you guys should know that I am on holiday now! The progression of writing this stuff will be faster now until August time when I will be in the lovely US of A for a vacation! But that's enough of my holiday plans...LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0805 - Midnight - The TV World - The Magatsu Memorial_

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><p>The atmosphere unsettled around everyone as a long pause lingered in the air after Yu offered a fight to Junpei and Koromaru. But eventually and slowly, darkness started to spread along the Shadows' bodies in growing strength.<p>

Koromaru dug his paws into the ground in preparation and Junpei held the front of his cap, turning it round to the back of his head as he chuckled. And as his sniggers turned into laughter, the darkness started to rise from both of their bodies. "Very unlike you Yu..." Junpei spoke, with the voice of discord bellowing over his own, "...you want to take away what I'm happy with? Over my dead body!" He then threw his arms upwards to lift the darkness around him from the ground, yelling in release to bring out the ugly side that it was making of him. Koromaru also did this, howling as the darkness, combined with Junpei's, forced itself around the area.

Everyone quickly covered their eyes from the thick obscurity that was forming around them and felt a gale of wind push against their bodies as it flew past them. They did this for a short while. But afterwards, they opened their eyes, witnessing what had become of Junpei and Koromaru.

They found Junpei's Shadow standing on top of the memorial, carrying a heavy metal baseball bat that had an a striking, enigmatic design that matched the metallic wings that covered the back of his legs. His backward baseball cap had golden wings on the side of each lobe and the vest and baggy trousers he wore were of a blood-red colour with golden threads shining against the dirty green. The trainers he also wore also had golden wings at his heels, and the design of them looked very flexible. His facial features were nowhere to be seen on his face, not even the yellow eyes. Instead, a cage-like metal, like the ones that could be seen on a baseball helmet, was placed over his face. The rest of his skin was of a Shadow shade of black.

But Koromaru was just as awful to look at. He had grown as large as the group was and he had three heads that were all identical to each other; donning six yellow eyes and black tongues that showed in contrast with their dirty white gums in their razor-like teeth. His coat of fur was of a much darker shade of grey and his tail, even though fluffy, had a large trident that was just sticking out of the layer of fur. His body was also slimmer than his normal appearance and his arms and legs were much more muscular than before. But what made his paws so deadly was that his claws were of several Kunai Knives that were much sharper than his previous weapon.

With such a duo fighting alongside one another, it was a recipe for disaster. Koromaru gave another howl with his three heads lifted in the air, barking with a lower tone than usual. "I am a Shadow...the true self..." Junpei then spoke the familiar chant, "...and watch out baby! Here comes a home-run!"

BGM: Sssnakepit (Hamilton Remix) - Enter Shikari / Unavoidable Battle - Persona 3 OST

Yu quickly gestured for everyone to get into two groups; one so that they can handle Koromaru, and another one to go for Junpei. They all quickly did this as swiftly as possible and got into mixed groups of two. Yu made his own decision by helping both groups out as much as he could.

When everyone was ready, Rise and Fuuka reacted and summoned their Personas behind everyone. Rise used Kanzeon to scan Koromaru's Shadow, and Fuuka used Juno to get information on Junpei's. They then both switched to each other's scan results for confirmation before warning everyone of possible weaknesses and resistances.

"Watch out everyone!" Rise shouted for everyone's attention, "They can both block Fire-related attacks, but Koromaru can also block attacks related to darkness!" With this knowledge, Yukiko found herself redundant in the situation. But more information was yet to be given out. "But they do have weaknesses!" Fuuka confirmed, "Junpei's weak to Wind attacks, and Koromaru is weak to light!"

The first group went for Koromaru, mostly for a distraction so that the others could focus on Junpei who jumped down from the memorial. Akihiko stepped forward and took out his Evoker, squeezing the trigger with a rapid finger to call forth Caesar into battle for the first time in two years. And as his Persona held up the spiralling globe that hovering in the palm of its hand, it called down a thunderous Ziodyne spell on Junpei, which surprising he dodged.

Junpei rapidly moved out of the attack's range with an impossibly fast sprint that were amplified with the help of the golden wings on his heels and head. After this, he sprinted at an incredible speed towards Akihiko, readying his bat in a tight grip. And when he reached him in a matter of a split second, Junpei took a swing, only to be blocked with a quick defence of Akihiko's leather fists.

"Man, this Shadow's fast...and Junpei's train of thought can't even go at half this speed!" Akihiko marvelled at Junpei's capabilities, but in mockery to try and make him sacrifice his defence for frustration. He couldn't tell by his facial expression, but Junpei didn't seem to bothered about it.

Over and over Junpei tried to land a hit on Akihiko who still kept his guard up as he blocked repeatedly in different positions. This went on for a long time, until Chie ran up to the confrontation and jumped over Akihiko's head, delivering a swinging kick into Junpei's caged head. As this happened, Junpei was sent flying towards the memorial pillar, but instantly regained his balance to safely land on the wall of the stone with both feet. He then used a powerful jump to glide over to the airborne Chie, grabbing the leg that kicked him, and launching her into a nearby altar with a large impact that caused cracks to appear.

"Chie!" Yosuke shouted to the aching Chie, grasping his knives with tight grips as he looked back at the Shadow with a slightly irked attitude. He rushed towards Junpei, almost matching his speed and pulling out his Evoker with such anger, that it nearly ripped his holster and his trigger nearly snapped when he summoned Susano-o.

His Persona glided behind him, and when Yosuke reached Junpei with a near miss of the metal bat, he unleashed a Magarudyne spell with himself and Susano-o being at the heart of the attack. As the huge force of wind formed around them into a large twister, Junpei was flailing around helplessly whist being sliced and slashed by Yosuke's knives as his body spun with his Persona, who also spun with him with its saw-like weapon in its hands.

When the flurry of attacks ended, Yosuke landed safely on the ground. "Good going, Yosuke! You've hit him in his weak point!" Fuuka said in congratulation. But even though he was slightly dizzy afterwards, he felt proud of his attack, watching Junpei's Shadow cascading down towards the ground head first. But immediately, Junpei straightened himself up in mid-flight and prepared for another of his attack.

"Come on!" Junpei's Shadow shouted in annoyance, "You want me to be happy, Yu? Then let me stay here! Simple as that!"

He held out his hand, which slowly formed a ball of fire at his flamed fingertips. And as the fireball was at its desirable strength, Junpei let go of it, making sure that it won't be affected by the air resistance created by gravity. "Look out guys!" Rise warned, "There is a lot more power in that ball than you might think!" He then readied his bat behind his head, and after a short while, he gave a powerful swing, hitting the ball of fire as if it was a baseball.

But what made it worse was that, upon hitting the ball, it cascaded faster than Junpei did, growing larger and larger in mass as it hurled down towards Yosuke. Just looking at the juggernaut of fire made Yosuke freeze up in the spot he was standing in, sweating as the heat of the fire drew near. "Don't just stand there, Yosuke!" Yu shouted for him, sprinting towards him with Yukari to lift him out of the way of the hazard zone by his arms. Luckily, they narrowly missed the attack by a small amount of distance, watching the large bonfire behind them, and imagining what would have possibly became of Yosuke if he they weren't there to rescue him.

Meanwhile, the other half of the group had their tactics figured out for such a large figure of a dog. Ken and Kanji took their sprints towards the three-headed monstrosity and jumped towards the left and right heads, in the hope that both mouths will open as a result. Fortunately, they did, which lead to the next step of the strategy. As the mouths opened, Ken and Kanji landed carefully on the bottom set of the heads' teeth. Ken used his spear to wedge between the front bottom and top set of teeth so that its jaws will stay open.

Kanji on the other hand, had to improvise. When he landed on the bottom set of teeth, the top set instantly came down on top of him. But before it could chomp on him, Kanji used his quick reactions to catch the top set with his hands, prying the jaw open as he straightened himself up, lifting the teeth with the amount of force that was being pushed down on him.

When this happened, Koromaru stomped around the battlefield, trying all of his effort to get two of his jaws shut even though he had one more available. But this was damaging the groups strategy. Mitsuru took her stand and summoned Artemisia with a click of the trigger from her Evoker. And with a lift of a reaching arm, Mitsuru commanded her Persona to perform a Mabufudyne on Koromaru's paws, freezing them into place so that he wouldn't be able to move around so much. It also lessened the chance of being hit by his Kunai Knife claws as well as weakening the metal due to the wearing of the thaw. "Good one, Mitsuru-senpai!" Fuuka praised Mitsuru's quick thinking, "That should give you some time!"

Teddie was next to make a move and ran forward, jumping into the middle head's mouth the same way Ken and Kanji did and had his Evoker ready in his costume. But just as he lifted himself off of the ground, the force of his jump accidentally made the Evoker slip out of his human hands. During his flight, he slipped his arms out the bear arms that were part of the costume and searched from left to right from the pockets to the areas in the actual costume itself. But by the time he found the Evoker, his bloated costume was already in the jaws of Koromaru.

Koromaru repeatedly bit and chewed into Teddie's bear costume, but instead of tearing and ripping, the costume acted as a chew-toy for the large canine, sinking his teeth into the bouncy clothing, slobbering over the cotton and threading. "Eurgh..." Teddie muttered in disgust, "...h-help meeee..." He couldn't stand the moisture of Koromaru's saliva, but it was a gate-opener for the others.

Yukiko ran towards Koromaru with the barrel of the Evoker pointed towards her forehead. And when she called forth Amaterasu with a press of the trigger, she commanded it through her mind to refrain form using any fire-related attacks, and instead focus on tiring Koromaru out. With this knowledge, Amaterasu flew with blinding speeds around the large hound using its gracious bird-like wings, not only to attack the three heads, but also to tire him out which was working a treat. "That should fatigue him easier, Yukiko! Good job!" Fuuka praised Yukiko.

Aigis and Naoto made the next move, and examined carefully at the targets that they were to hit. The only weakness they could find was in the three mouths, but the only problem was that there were two people in the way; Ken being the only one who is safe. They would need utter luck to hit the target without harming anyone else, but they had no other choice but to just go for it. Getting to this stage in their strategy was hard enough.

With a pump and twitch of her arms, Aigis brought out the hidden guns both small and large and used her limited robotic technology to get a precise aim on all three mouths, she had to move around the battlefield to get an aim so that Teddie and Kanji couldn't get hurt. Naoto had to do the same with her magnum revolver, which was harder to handle considering the large size and length of the barrel.

But as soon as they found a good aim, they fired away. Different sounds from different artillery were heard from all around, narrowly missing the two boys still trapped underneath Koromaru's teeth. Kanji and Teddie tried to stay as still as possible whilst they were firing, and afterwards, their bodies tensed up in shock.

Naoto made one final shot near where Kanji was to make sure, only startling him and making him nearly lower his guard. But what made it more nerve-racking for Kanji was that the shot was made so close to his groin area. "Whoa!" he yelled, "I felt the wind on that one!" Naoto was pleased that she didn't hit him, but she did flinch at the idea of hitting Kanji where it nearly would have hit him. And she could imagine that I would've been very painful.

Mitsuru ran towards the middle head of Koromaru where Teddie was, which seemed to be in a stricken state because of the other heads coming down with dizziness from the shots that Aigis and Naoto made. She took out her Evoker and summoned Artemisia for a second time. And with another raise of her hand, the Persona took out its metal whip, using it to whip Koromaru straight between the eyes with a large impact.

After this attack, Koromaru left his guard wide open, lowering his centre head in defeat with the other heads. "Koromaru is dizzy! Now's your chance!" Fuuka advised in a shout. As a result of the attack, Teddie and Kanji were set free to move onto their next step, which was to free Koromaru's paws so that other weaknesses could be open to attack. The group chose an ice block to attack and started using any means to break the paws free, either by using physical attacks or Persona attacks.

After a long while, Kanji and Naoto were the first ones to break the back legs free, but when started to make their way towards the others so that they could help them, Koromaru's dizziness was quelled, which to them was at a bad time. He howled and barked in irritation and his yellow eyes grew wider and showed some emotion of anger.

Koromaru made his move on Kanji and Naoto, using his trident-tipped tail to attack the duo. Kanji saw this coming and quickly pushed Naoto out of its way, which only left him to suffer the blow. But fortunately, the impact Kanji faced was the softer part of his tail and found the opportunity to grab onto it. This greatly agitated Koromaru.

The gigantic hound wagged its tail and spun it in large circular motions to try and get Kanji off of him. The group could hear him yelling out as Koromaru did this, hearing his voice change depending on the speed he was being spun in. But after just a moment of his happening, Koromaru gave one last powerful upward swing of his tail and Kanji finally let go of the tail, sending himself flying sky high into the green atmosphere of the TV world.

He found it hard to regain his balance, but when he started to plummet back to the ground, he straightened himself up and quickly thought of an idea for a final blow. The group watched him fall, but even though he was close to something they didn't want to think about, they saw him taking out his Evoker and immediately summoning Rokuten Maoh.

Kanji took a position that looked like a wrestling move and his Persona followed suit with its fire-motif blade ready to make a Mighty Swing attack to Koromaru's body. When Kanji was getting close, he shouted out the more his intention grew to deal a strong enough attack as possible. "Sorry about this pooch!" he shouted in apology to Koromaru. And with that, the attack was made, dealing a critical hit to the canine and knocking him down to the ground. "Nice going, Kanji-kun!" Rise complimented Kanji, watching him as he dusted himself off in modesty.

The moment was short-lived as Koromaru tried his effort to get back up again, which was about to be stopped by Aigis, ready for her next, and hopefully final move. With a click of her mechanical parts to activate her built-in Evoker, she called forth Thanatos from her humanoid psyche. But immediately upon summoning, exactly like the last time, the Persona went berserk for a second time. As this happened Aigis held her head in writhing agony, unable to control the uncontrollable actions of Thanatos.

"Aigis' psyche has gone berserk again! Her power is going haywire!" Fuuka warned everyone, trying to get the small group safely away from what was happening. Thanatos was slashing and slicing with its sword over and over, landing critical hits on Koromaru with every blow dealt. But when Koromaru managed to swipe it with his claws, it was immediately sent back into Aigis' mind, causing her to suffer the exhaustion she felt the last time.

"I...don't understand..." Aigis muttered to herself before the rest of the halved group helped her up. Aigis knew clearly that only Personas of the Fool Arcana could malfunction the Wild Card. But what she summoned was that of the Death Arcana, which made it very confusing for Aigis, as well as Yu witnessed it. "What the...?" he questioned in his thoughts, unable to think of answers in the situation he was in.

Back to the fight with Junpei, Yu was crossing his katana against Junpei's bat in a confrontation that mimicked a fierce sword fight. With every block and swipe made, Yu was getting exhausted which fortunately didn't get the best of him. Instead, Yu made one final swing to break Junpei's defence as well as his own katana in the process, shattering the thick metal into fragments that scattered across the ground. As Yu threw what was left of his weapon away, he watched as Junpei fly to a great distance from his powerful slash, landing back-first on the ground.

As Junpei tried to get back up, Yukari reached him and kicked him back to the ground, charging her arrow with a tight pull of her bow right in Junpei's face. But as she was about to let go of the arrow, Junpei quickly kicked her weapon upwards, causing Yukari to lose her arrow after letting go too late.

Junpei quickly got back up to his feet and grabbed Yukari by her arm, burning her skin with his heated hand and keep her within his grasp just to hear her cry out in pain. "He's burning her!" Rise shouted with a gasp, "Someone do something!"

Junpei then brought a clutched fist up and snapped his fingers to surround his skin with flames, bringing it down onto the helpless girl. But just in time, Akihiko parried the attack and forced Yukari out of his grip, delivering a kick to his abdomen to get him away from his other teammates. "Akihiko-senpai, help her heal her burns." Fuuka ordered, getting a willing nod of the head from Akihiko. He helped Yukari away from Junpei's range.

Yu took his stance, standing a large distance away from Junpei, who was slowly recovering from Akihiko's counterattack that winded him. And as he got back up to his feet, Junpei created another ball of fire in his palm and rubbed it into his hands as if he was creating a snowball. "You don't want me to live in this world because of its lies...but yet you still live in a world that is full of them!" Junpei shouted at Yu, "You're such a hypocrite!"

Yu didn't want to show it, but he was hurt by Junpei's words. And what he had said to him was true; the TV world is the underbelly of all lies, but when Yu compared it to the world they live in, it was no different.

Junpei then stood in a position that would belong to a typical baseball pitcher and leaned back to power up his throw. "Yu, he's using that same attack again! Be careful!" Rise advised, worried about what the outcome will be after witnessing what it did before.

Junpei propelled his arm forwards, sending the thick fireball across the battlefield in a curveball with no air resistance and with no gravity to stop it. But despite this, Yu stood his ground, taking out his golf club from his disposal, which to his small group was very strange. Yu knew what he was doing though.

He held out his club and stopped the fireball in its tracks, careful to not make it vanish or to not cause an explosion that caused quite a bit of trouble the last time the attack was made. After stopping it, the fireball acted as a flaming golf ball that sat patiently on the ground, and Yu rested the end of his club near it. He examined the distance from Junpei and the weight of the ball and club before determining his next move.

As a more stranger action, Yu took out his Evoker and solemnly summoned Izanagi onto the battlefield, commanding it to use a Ziodyne spell on the fireball. He knew that a fireball wasn't enough of an attack on Junpei; he would only block it. But now that he surged some electricity into it, Yu was ready to attack.

He raised his club behind him to power up his swing. "Fore!" he shouted in mockery to Junpei, hitting the ball with such power that it made a large dent in the metal and in the pole.

The ball of mixed elemental power glided through the air, and as Yu followed where it was going, he could see that the line that the ball was travelling in was just perfect, watching it as it collided into Junpei's body. The ball, upon being forced into Junpei's skin, evaporated in dying flames and crackling electricity which caused some slight infliction. "That was so cool, Senpai!" Rise squealed in excitement. Yu answered her with a smile and a gesture that indicated that it wasn't the end of Yu's attack.

Yu threw away him broken golf club and focused on Izanagi. When Junpei was stricken with burns and the inability to even move due to paralysis, Yu took his opportunity and ran with his Persona towards him, using its arcane sword to knock him high up into the air again.

He followed him into the skies and commanded Izanagi for one more attack, to use a Garudyne spell on him which, after a powerful burst of inflicting wind, sent him cascading down near where Koromaru was. As a bonus, Junpei was in a critical state and laid down near the canine with a loss of energy. "Both Shadows are down! Keep it up!" Fuuka cheered everyone one.

"Yu! We have a chance!" Yukari shouted for his attention, getting a confident nod from Yu as well as Izanagi who nodded in sync with him. Yu took a moment to adjust his glasses before preparing himself for a final sprint. Everyone as a whole group watched him do this and took out their Evokers to summon their Personas onto the battlefield.

"All-Out Attack!" Yu shouted, immediately charging with everyone else towards the fallen Shadows. Everyone yelled, shouted and cried out with the sight of victory right in front of them giving them the strength to make that final push for the night.

The scattered group members then finally became one cluster of people, battling it out in unison for the safety of their victimised friends. A thick cloud of smoke suddenly formed around the fury of attacks and spells, covering their sight from the amount of dark skin that was being ripped out from the Shadows' bodies.

When the furious waves of attacks ended, everyone backed away from the smokescreen, dismissing their Personas back to their psyche. Some squinted their eyes to try and get a sight of what was happening inside the smoke, and some just marvelled at the amount of destruction they caused within that area. But everyone had hoped that they didn't overdo it; the safety of Koromaru and Junpei was important.

The smoke slowly and gradually cleared, and the fate of Junpei and Koromaru was revealed.

Thankfully, Junpei and Koromaru were finally stripped of their Shadows, laying down in exhaustion and pain, catching their breath. And a small distance from them was their Shadows, beaten and covered in dark wounds. Their bodies were evaporating into nothingness.

Everyone quickly ran over to the two victims and tried to get a response out of them. Fuuka picked up Koromaru's body, happy to know that he was breathing, and to make things better, he opened his eyes. Yu helped Junpei up to his feet with the help of Akihiko and turned his hat round to the appropriate way he normally wears it.

"...S-Yu..." Junpei mumbled, struggling to lift his head up to his friend. He collapsed slightly and Yu managed to catch him. "Don't worry, I'm here. It's all over now." Yu comforted him.

After a long while of catching his breath and regaining the strength in his limbs, Junpei was finally able to stand up again. And when he did, the first thing he saw was his Shadow along with Koromaru's. Koromaru jumped out of Fuuka's arms and scampered towards the evaporating figures with Junpei. As everyone else followed suit, the Shadows turned towards their selves as they approached their broken bodies, watching them as they knelt down to them. Junpei's Shadow found it very hard to even speak let alone to move his jaws.

"So...this is your decision, huh?" the Shadow spoke slowly and quietly, trying to keep its dignity in defeat which is something even Junpei most likely wouldn't do, "You want...to go back to that world? That world has...lost all...meaning. The...whole world...is a lie."

Junpei listened to himself, finding some sense in what he was trying to say. But even so, he shook his head. "You're right. There's always a lot of bullshit in the world. And, yeah, maybe the world is a lie..." he began, "...but I'm not constantly blinded by them in that world. But here...I'm just lying to myself. In that world...in my world, I have the greatest people beside me who can help me find the truth. And even if the truth isn't anything good, at least I'm not being lied to."

No one had ever seen this side to Junpei before, but they were all proud of him for finding his resolution. Even his own Shadow gave a genuine smile to him. Junpei then took a good long look at his 'other' and finally came to a realisation. "I guess...you are me. No doubt about it." he said with confidence.

The Shadow then held out his hand, offering a bro handshake. "Well then...put it there...partner." it said forcefully due to its aches and pains. Junpei was more than willing to take the handshake as if he was handshaking with a friend, which could be said to be so. And with that his Shadow materialised away into glowing radiant dust which Junpei fixated his eyes on until the last speck died out into the open air.

Koromaru also seemed to come to an agreement with himself as he watched his own Shadow break away into powders of magnificent light. He followed the dust, dancing and scampering in its warmth with happiness.

As Junpei stood back up, he lifted his head to see Chidori in the distance, but sadly as a spirit. The same could be said for Koromaru, who saw his master standing with her in his ghostly form. They both ran up to them at first, but when the emotions were starting to get the better of them, they walked slowly as they approached them. Yu gestured for everyone to not intrude on this moment, and they all stayed behind.

"Chidori..." Junpei spoke softly yet sadly to his spirited lover. He didn't know what else to say. Just looking at her was too emotional for him, and every other sentence he had in his mind were too hard to say, especially when his lips are trembling. "Junpei..." Chidori spoke his name as softly as he did, "...please don't be sad. It's something I can't even bare to see..."

Seeing her again was one thing, but hearing her voice again after two years made it all the more harder for him to clear the lump in his throat. "I know I shouldn't be..." he continued, wiping his face with his hands to wipe away the tears that started to form, "...I mean, you gave me this life. You're literally a part of me..."

He tried to make himself happy, but just within the fact that she was standing right in front of him wasn't helping. The nostalgia took him over. He continued with struggle, "...But...why I keep thinking like that isn't enough? Why can't I just accept it? Oh man...I'm so weak!"

Junpei held his head, overwhelming himself with thoughts of him and Chidori, and just when his mind started to overflow with both happy and tragic memories, he instantly broke down. He yelled out in devastation and collapsed to his knees with a thud, sobbing and weeping into his hands to cup his tears.

He could feel Chidori's arms around him when she hugged him tenderly, and he could hear her sobbing with him into his shoulder. The embrace happened for a long time before the tears started to die down. "...Don't cry, Junpei...please..." Chidori tried to speak over her weeps, "...I gave you this life...so that...you could continue to be happy."

"...I know," Junpei began to overcome his tears, "I just...needed a release..." He looked behind himself to find Yu and remembered what he said to him earlier that night. "...we do sometimes just force ourselves to hold it back...and it's not really the healthiest thing to do..." Yu smiled to him for remembering what he had said word for word. Junpei then turned back to Chidori, not with sadness, but with a look of relief and returning happiness. He continued, looking into her eyes without sadness, "I needed that release...and I've needed it for a long time. But now I know that I've got the strength...there's no stopping me now. You can count on that."

As a result of Junpei's happiness, Chidori felt the same way, wiping away her spiritual tears and putting on a genuine smile for her lover, in the knowledge that he had finally opened his eyes. She put a hand to his chest, showing him where she'll always be.

"I love you," Chidori finally said before she began to materialise, "and do not forget that. Goodbye, Junpei." And with that, Chidori rose up in a brilliant light, rising with the sparks back into the sky. "Not goodbye..." Junpei said with a smile as he put a hand to his chest where Chidori felt him, "...see you soon."

He then looked towards Koromaru and his spirited master along with everyone else who was listening to their conversation, which was just as touching.

Koromaru whimpered in sadness at the sight of his late master, laying down on the floor with his head drooping to the floor. The master knelt down to his knees and stroked him with his frail hands. "Oh, Koro-chan..." he spoke with a croaky yet wise tone, "...you have been so loyal to me. You've stayed by my side, you've studied with me...and even when I passed away, you still stayed with me..."

The monk gave a wry smile before thinking about what to say next. "Do you remember what I told you?" he asked him, as if his pet was his son, "Death is a natural component of life. It is essential no matter how much we despise the day when it comes to us all...and do you remember what I asked you about it? Would you rather live forever and have no meaning to life? Or would you rather live the moment until that day comes?"

Koromaru instantly looked up, remembering those questions that he was asked by his master in the past. His ears stood up again, as did he as he stood up on his front and back legs. There were a few wags of his tail, and to everyone, he seemed to have had his resolution. The monk spoke again. "I have taught you all I know...and you must continue your life and flourish your knowledge in the light of what your friends have to offer."

The small canine quickly turned round to his friends who his master was mentioning, which increased the speed in his wagging tail. He then turned back to the monk. "Now...go on and live your life!" he ended his conversation with a smile, getting confident barks from his former loyal companion. As his master stood up, he gave one final wave before drifting off as glistening sparks of light into the wind another into the skies above with Chidori.

Junpei and Koromaru felt better than ever and as they stood up with each other, they stood up straight with a lightness that was noticeable, as if a weight had been applied to their shoulders for so long that it felt good to take it off. They joined everyone else, with Koromaru in Junpei's arms in a comical way and they were all pleased that the two made it out safely, but most of all, happily.

"Well done you two," Yu welcomed them back to the group after another horrendous night, "and welcome back." Junpei and Koromaru looked at Yu with a look of gratitude, and on behalf of the canine and himself, Junpei placed a genuine and friendly hand on his shoulder. "I don't know where we would be without you right now, Yu," he said in the upmost of his thanks, "but from what I could say, we would be as good as gone."

Yu gave a chuckle to his unexpected words and took Junpei's hand from his shoulder so that he could offer his own bro handshake to him, which he proudly took. And they both knew, they formed a stronger relationship with one another. "Oh, and..." Junpei began with a look of apology, "...I'm sorry about what my Shadow...what I said to you back then..."

"It's okay, Junpei. There's no need to apologise." Yu reassured him with a grin.

Everyone else gave their welcome back greetings to the two with different forms of handshakes, hugs and expressions.

"I think it's time for some well-earned rest. Shall we head back?" Akihiko asked of the group, knowing that he would receive an obvious answer. But Junpei was there to comically break that rule. "I dunno," he began with his upbeat attitude, "I still haven't finished my helping to Yu's cooking yet! So if you guys need me during the night, I'll be on the couch eating the leftovers." Everyone laughed with Junpei, even though they all found it very true to believe. Then Yosuke had ideas. "You know what? Save me some space on the sofa then!" he added, getting a bigger laughter than before.

And on that note, they left for the surface, making their way back to the stack of TVs at the entrance. As everyone left, Junpei and Koromaru stopped in their tracks and looked behind themselves, taking one last look of the memorial. They then looked at each other and smiled with one another, catching up with everyone afterwards.

With another night done and another operation completed, the exhaustion started to kick in for everyone and nothing could ruin their sleep now; not even the heavy rain that was constantly tapping on their windows, nor the celebrations along with the chomping and gulping noises that Junpei and Yosuke were planning to make with their dinner throughout the rest of the night.

**Oh man, that took so long to do! I started making this chapter the day before and I managed to do one page, and then I do it today and I do TWELVE more pages...in one day! I definitely need a powernap. Anyway, keep reading and reviewing, and vote when you can! And so, until the next chapter guys! CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Igor: Judging by your recent difficulty in summoning Thanatos, it seems that the main cause of it, is really Orpheus._

_Aigis: Why would Orpheus be the only cause of it?_

_Yu: You and me and a heavier weight on our shoulders... I bet that Minato saw the strength in you to carry his Wild-Card._

_Igor: The answers will come in due time._


	16. The Issue With Orpheus

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Sixteen_

_The Issue With Orpheus_

**Yippe-kay-yay guys! And welcome to the SIXTEENTH chapter of this story...the SIXTEENTH! God, it doesn't feel that long ago since I started 'His Sapphire Eyes'. Anyway, did you guys hear about the Persona 3 movie adaption they're bringing out? Are you excited? CUZ I SURE AS HELL I AM! Anyway, that was my short and sweet announcement out of the way...LET'S GET-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0805 - After Midnight - The Real World_

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><p>After everyone stepped out of Mitsuru's TV safely, nothing else was on their mind but the thought of wanting to go to bed, with the exception of Yosuke and Junpei's ideas. Everyone said their goodnights to each other before returning to their rooms.<p>

When Yu did this, he was immediately stopped by Rise by his arm when he got halfway down the corridor. He faced his body towards her. "Rise?" he asked her for what she halted him for. She came closer to him; close enough so that their abdomens were touching.

"This might be a bit sudden for you, Yu..." she began, quite nervously whilst holding her cheeks to stop the sudden blushes, "...but...could I stay in your room tonight?"

At first, Yu was unaware of why she would find it as 'sudden', but he thought about it more, he finally knew why, but didn't want to think about it in case it would freak her out. Despite it though, he was more than willing. "Of course you can."

"Oh thank goodness..." Rise said with a smile and a soft burning sensation on her face, "...it's just that I had a nightmare earlier on. And this might sound silly, but if I went to bed tonight without someone with me, I wouldn't be able to sleep the whole night." Yu could only chuckle at the seemingly-cute Rise which was a response she half expected. He then lead her stealthily to his room, trying their best effort to let anyone notice them.

Fortunately, everyone went to bed quicker than they did and it made it all the more easier, even though they caused a few loud noises to the floor above. But when they got to Yu's door, the tension subsided as they went through and turned the lock on the doorknob.

Yu didn't think about getting back into his pyjamas and just power-walked to his bed, flopping his whole dead bodyweight onto the sheets with a large thud, landing face first into the cotton-filled pillows. But his moment of relaxing comfort was cut short when Rise jumped onto his back from a run-up, and then it was returned again when she hugged him from behind.

Yu then turned himself round in Rise's arms and wrapped his arms around her waist, dropping her to one side of the bed while facing his body towards her. They held each other closely with eyes looking directly and deeply into each others eyes which was something that hasn't happened in a few days since they formed with S.E.E.S.

"It feels so long ago since we did this." Rise inputted softly, earning herself a position that put her body closer to Yu. She nuzzled her head under his chin and shuffled herself so that she could feel more comfortable with him in his arms. "Sure does..." Yu spoke with a charming tone, "...you know what? It feels even better when it's raining outside when we're nice and cosy here."

Rise chuckled sweetly when she felt the same way. She took one arm away from Yu's shoulder and placed it on his chest, feeling the tone in his muscular pecks with a smooth rub of her fingers. "You're such the romantic." she said in a whisper, using her other hand to bring his head to hers.

She used the same hand to hold his chin which she slowly pulled in towards her while shutting her eyes in time with his. She pulled him in further until their lips touched. And then, they sent themselves into a heavenly state, giving passionate kisses to each other with a love that grew stronger and stronger as the tender moment passed. They were both very exhausted from the operation, but their feelings for each other were much stronger than their tiredness.

The moment felt endless to both of them, and even when it did end, they could fall asleep happy with each other safely and lovingly in their arms.

Rise was the first to fall asleep, keeping her arms around Yu's shoulders. Yu stayed awake to watch her sleeping for one last moment before dropping his heavy eyelids over his eyes. And as he did this, he began to fall into a deep slumber, feeling the weight of his body being lifted by a familiar force.

The drifting sensation returned to him, feeling as if he was gliding towards the bottom of an abyss. He fell into the wind slowly on his back until he could feel a force which helped him to stop. The sensation then subsided, and his body felt heavy again.

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><p><em>0805 - After Midnight - The Velvet Room_

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><p>Yu opened his dreary eyes to the familiar shades of violet and blue around him, looking around to find himself in the large ongoing elevator in the small chair he was sitting in amongst the other furniture that was placed around the room. The silence he heard only a short while ago turned into the quiet sound of the rushing elevator. It took him a bit of time before he knew where he was, and turned to his side, where Aigis was sitting to confirm it. Aigis turned to him and had the same realisation he did. They were in the Velvet Room once again.<p>

They then turned to their front, seeing Igor sitting in his usual position at the table, looking up to the two with beady eyes and pointed nose. Standing next him were his usual sibling assistants, Margaret and Elizabeth.

"Welcome back to the Velvet Room." Igor greeted the familiar words. Margaret and Elizabeth gave gestures of the same greeting, and Yu and Aigis returned them with courteous nods. Igor spoke again with a wave of his hand for conversation, "We have much to speak of tonight."

"Aigis," Elizabeth started off with Aigis, already giving her the impression of the matters at hand, "we have monitored your Wild Card throughout your excursion last night. May we take another examination?"

"Of course." Aigis answered, holding out her hand to materialise the Wild Card from flickering flames of indigo, into her android fingertips. She then passed it over to Igor's hand with a flick of her wrist. She and Yu watched him as he examined the blank card with darting eyes that looked at every angle of the card for inspection.

And in a short matter of time, Igor lifted his head up to the two. "Ah, I see now..." he spoke with the knowledge of what Aigis went through the night before, "...we seem to be narrowing down to the cause of this mishap. Judging by your recent difficulty in summoning Thanatos, it seems that the main cause of it, is really Orpheus."

Not only Aigis was confused as to what Igor was talking about, but so was Yu, seeming more to have a shocked expression rather than a baffled one. He could grasp some aspects of what Igor was trying to get at, but it was still very vague. "What do you mean?" Aigis asked, "Why would Orpheus be the only cause of it?"

"The symptoms you suffer from ail you to not be able to summon those of the Fool Arcana," Igor recapped, somewhat indicating to both Aigis and Yu that there was a bigger picture to these 'symptoms', "now you may be wondering how Orpheus comes into all of this when Thanatos is the key point. But really, it is very simple. The requirements that were needed to fuse Thanatos included Orpheus as one part needed for the fusion. So, in short, you were using a Persona which carries the traits of the Fool Arcana."

After hearing Igor's explanation, the Aigis' need for answers was quelled, and even though Yu felt the same way, there was some part of the whole thing that was prodding his mind with irritation. "But the thing is..." Yu joined the conversation, "...why is Orpheus the main cause of this?"

Igor only shook his head. "That, I am afraid I have no answer to. But if I were to shed any light on the matter, it would be that it might come into relation with Orpheus' previous host."

And at that moment, the bombshell dropped. Yu and Aigis looked to one another and exchanged looks for a quick moment before going into their own thoughts and imagination. Yu looked the deepest in his thoughts. "What?" he thought to himself, "Orpheus was Minato's Persona...but...how does he come into this? It doesn't make sense...wait, or does it?"

"We shouldn't worry about it now," Margaret interrupted his thoughts, knowing that Yu was feeling distressed at the time, "it's not definite; just a possibility."

Aigis was reassured by Margaret, but Yu was still fixated on his thoughts, unable to unshackle the ideas that were springing into his mind. "It makes sense though!" he thought to himself again, "If Orpheus is the main cause of the Wild-Card's problems, then Minato has to be at the centre of it...but how?"

He then darted his head towards Aigis for any ideas, but when he did, he found her with a lowered head. She was half in deep thought and half in concern. Yu found his question unnecessary to ask when he saw her like this. "Minato may have wanted me to have his Wild-Card...but now I...I'm not sure if I'm the right person to give it to," she muttered to herself, but loud enough for Yu to hear, "and if I summon the wrong Persona by accident, I'll only be made redundant more and more."

"Aigis, you're not being made redundant," Yu said in comfort to Aigis, putting a warm hand on her metal plated shoulder, "it's just a condition we've not had much luck with. Trust me, you're not useless." Even though she found his words true, her expression didn't change in any shape or form.

"Look at me Aigis," he then with a slight stern out of concern, getting her attention and turning her eyes to him, "I've only had my Wild-Card for a shorter period of time than you had, and even I make mistakes with it. And really, you and me have had a heavier weight on our shoulders..." A look of understanding then sprung on Aigis' face. Yu continued, "...I bet that Minato saw the strength in you to carry his Wild-Card. You're a strong person Aigis, and Minato saw that in you to have his power."

After hearing his words of wisdom once again, Aigis' negative thoughts of herself were quelled from her mind, and her usual mood started to kick in again. "Really?" she asked of Yu, "You really think so?" The question was easy to answer, and Yu gave nothing more than a confident nod of his head.

She smiled to him and he smiled back. "Thank you, Yu," she thanked him with a gracious expression, "it's been so long since I confided in someone like you...like Minato."

And as she said those kind words to him, her body slowly became transparent and started to lift from the chair she was sitting in. She gave one last sweet smile to Yu before closing her eyes and fading away into the air, back to the real world.

Igor cleared his throat for Yu's attention. "Now young man...we should move on to your matters. We don't want to keep you long." Yu nodded in understanding and collected his thoughts, which instantly brought up his concern of the figure he met in the recent operation. The second hooded boy he's met during this whole case.

"Remember the boy in the hood I told you about before?" he asked to recap, "Well, I've met a second boy who wears a hood. And I'm sure that there's no doubt that both of these guys are working together."

Like before, Igor called forth a small mass of fog on the table in front of him and raised a hand to the side, swiping it across the table to shape-shift the mist into a mould. The fog collected together slowly, and gradually it took the form of the boy in the brown trench-coat and hood that he recently met. Igor examined the boy for a short moment before looking back to Yu.

"As you say, this boy is indeed in a connection with the other," Igor began, "and just like the boy before, he is also damaging to your fate, yet necessary to your destiny. But keep in mind that this person is not the random encounter you had before...this boy is someone you know very well."

Hearing that this boy was someone Yu would have a good knowledge of was the very thing that hit him, as well as giving him more unwanted questions. But the way Igor phrased it indicated his lack of knowledge to know who that person in particular is. "...Great." Yu groaned as he sank his hand into his hands with his hope of finding any answers dropping.

"But don't fret. The answers will come in due time." Igor attempted his reassurance to Yu. But throughout the whole journey he's been through so far, only vague and few answers were given, and little evidence towards finding an end to the case was thrown at him from unclear sources.

"Morning now comes, we shouldn't keep you here any longer," Margaret spoke the start of the familiar farewell, making Yu's eyelids feel heavy as the words were spoken. Gradually, the thoughts that irritated him drifted away from his mind and focused on the emptiness that would send him back into a sleep. "Until we meet again...farewell."

His eyes then completely shut over his eyes, sending his body floating into the pool of his subconscious with the drifting sensation returning to his body. He spiralled, weaved and hovered his way back up to the surface of the physical world with the familiar sound of heavy rain returning to his hearing.

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><p><em>0805 - Morning - The Real World_

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><p>He then opened his eyes to the light of the room that was illuminated by the lamp that was next to him on his beside table. And the light that seeped through the bathroom door was lit with the sound of the running shower and Rise's singing heard through it.<p>

Yu then looked down on his body and found red hand marks that were bright against his skin complexion along with lipstick stains that brightened with a pink colour of his chest. He could only chuckle at the thought that it was all Rise's doing, rubbing his neck with an embarrassed expression. But as he did this, he felt a pain sensation on the right side of his neck. It wasn't a cut or a scratch, but it didn't feel like a bruise or a lump either.

When he reluctantly stood up from his bed and walked over to the mirror, he examined it, and chuckled again to find another bit of evidence that was left by Rise. It was bright red in colour and it blotched his skin slightly. But he could tell that it was in fact a love bite. "I guess it got a bit carried away." he mumbled to himself.

All he could do in his room now was to wait for Rise to come out of the shower whilst making his plans for the day ahead. He then remembered the operation from last night and found one thing on his list to do. And that was to get a new katana from the police station.

**Well, there's another one made for all of you! The sixteenth chapter! Also guys, the poll has now been CLOSED! And it looks like there will be some background music in the fanfics! Not a major announcement, but it's worth knowing I suppose. So, keep reading and review and until next chapter guys! CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Yosuke: What could I ever say to Saki-Senpai? Would it ever matter to her?_

_Chie: Yosuke... let me help you._

_Mitsuru: Yukari, are you alright?_

_Yukari: I'm fine! Stop asking me!_


	17. Lament

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Seventeen_

_Lament_

**Hello again guys, and welcome to the seventeenth chapter! I don't know if any of you have had any sunshine where you live this summer. But here...it just won't stop raining! Typical Britain...anyway, hope you guys are enjoying the story so far and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter, so without further ado...LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0805 - Midday_

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><p>The day was just as gloomy as any other when it came down to the constant heavy rain. The clouds were darker than ever, and the rain was just no surprise anymore which could be said for their soaking clothes as well. But the weather wasn't the only thing that downed everyone's spirits.<p>

It was the day before the memorial day and everyone who experienced a loss was sat around the table, in the lounge, with cards that had a sketched drawing of poppies in the corners and pens in front of them. Around the table were Yosuke, Mitsuru, Akihiko, Ken, Koromaru, Junpei and Yukari. Chie was also there for Yosuke out of concern and within the fact that he is the only one who was from the Investigation Team who lost someone. Junpei also helped Koromaru with his message to his master.

"What could I ever say to Saki-Senpai?" Yosuke asked himself with a sigh, "She never really liked me, she blamed me for getting her into a fight with her family...would it ever matter to her?" Chie looked at his card and only found Saki Konishi's name in big letters at the top, but there was no message. Yosuke sank his head into his cupped hands without a clue of what he would want to say.

"Yosuke..." Chie breathed, sad to see Yosuke in the state he was in and bravely putting her hands on his shoulders, "...let me help you." He looked towards her with a wry smile and unknowing as to if it was a good idea.

"Are you sure? I mean, you hardly knew her." Yosuke said, but appreciating Chie's will to help him. Chie wouldn't take no for an answer, and she would stop at nothing until he would write a full message for Saki, even though she knew that she wouldn't get fully rewarded for it. "No, I want to help you...I know how special she was to you." she persuaded Yosuke, even though she was reluctant to say it. In the end, he gave in to her need to help him and moved over on the sofa to give her space as thanks.

Those of S.E.E.S had the same two people on their cards in big letters; Shinjiro and Minato, and next to them were their own individual loss. For each of the people they had on their cards, they wrote messages underneath them. Words were just about easy to write. Others were just too hard, and it was all done in silence, with the exception of the pattering rain.

Junpei wrote for Shinjiro and Minato with the knowledge of the great things they both did, remembering the awe-inspiring moments he had with them. And for Chidori, there was great difficulty for him with finding other words rather than the ones he used back in the TV world. But when he was satisfied with the message he had lovingly written, he turned to Koromaru for help and did every bit he could to make the message as detailed and touching as he could. For the finishing touch to the card, Junpei took Koromaru's paw and pressed it down on the lower corners, making a paw-printed signature for Koromaru.

Akihiko had his little sister, Miki in big letters along with Shinjiro, and went by the words he shared with the two when he was victimised by the TV world. He wrote of the orphanage with Shinjiro and Miki whilst not mentioning too much about the incident they experienced. And when it came to Minato, he was reminded of his great leadership and how he became one of the greatest teammates and friends he's ever met.

Mitsuru also wrote messages to Minato on her admiration of his leadership skills and also wrote down the fond memories she had with Shinjiro and Akihiko, remembering the times when they were the only team members in S.E.E.S. But the memories were then interrupted when she went on to write to her father, Takeharu Kirijo, reminding her with recurring memories of that horrible night during the Dark Hour in Tartarus. She tried not to fixate on those memories, but yet there wasn't many fond memories she had of him, other than when she first summoned her Persona and protected him. She then wrote in detail on that event that happened many years back, managing to not let her emotions get the best of her.

Ken's messages were very hard to phrase, especially since he needed to write messages for both Shinjiro and his mother, which as history kept reminding him was a bad combination. When he wrote for Shinjiro, he tried all his effort to not mention anything about the accident and tried to keep the good memories of him to do the writing. But there were very few memories that were positive. And as for his mother, his limited memory of her as a small child was all he had to write a message for her, especially the cherish memories which he vaguely remembered.

Yukari was the one who had this problem. For Shinjiro, the words came naturally to her, yet had a sad tone attached to each sentence. For her father, Eiichiro Takeba, it slowly turned harder for her, trying to find the right words for the right situation when she wrote the message. As she progressed through her writing to her father, she was reminded of his death in the video she watched two years ago. But after remembering her resolution and remembering his courage made it easier and easier to write.

But when it came to Minato, her heart sank with her stomach. And suddenly, it became more than very difficult for her to even put the pen onto the card without shaking. She thought over and over of what she would have wanted to say to him, but every time she phrased it constantly in her head, those words just weren't good enough. The feelings she had for him and his death were just too hard to put into words. The words couldn't describe what she was feeling.

But what made it worse was that when she lifted her head from her writing to look to the others, they were all still writing, which pressured her more into writing something, which if she did, wouldn't seem enough to her. She looked back down to Minato's card, still blank and with virtually no idea of what she wanted to say to make it as truthful as it was in her heart.

"Yukari, are you alright?" Mitsuru asked when she saw her difficulty, "Do you need any help?" Upon being asked, Yukari gestured her decline, putting on a weak smile. "N-No thank you...I'm doing okay." she replied with a trembled tone, which only caused suspicions to spread across the room.

"Are you sure?" Junpei then asked with the same concern others had, "It is quite hard to write these messages after all..." But Yukari still didn't take the offer and returned to her card, pretending to write a message in case someone else wanted to ask. "No, I'm seriously fine..." she replied again, this time with stern and a fed up attitude.

Everyone returned to their messages, despite not being full convinced of Yukari's composure. Akihiko kept an eye on her in case she was hiding something from everyone, which he found was the case. He knew what it was about, and he wanted to get to the bottom of it gently. "Are you definitely sure there's-" Akihiko said to offer his help, but was then cut off by a slam on the table from Yukari.

"I'm fine! Stop asking me!" she shouted in irritation, showing her true feelings to the group. After she did this, a sense of discomfort was sent throughout the room and everyone felt like she needed time to herself.

"...I think I've finished mine." Yosuke said scratching his head, standing up from his seat with Chie and taking his cards with him to the second floor of the dorm. Everyone knew that he wasn't really done with his messages and Yukari somehow knew too. But even so, everyone thought it was necessary.

"Yeah, I'm done with mine as well," Junpei then said, standing up from the sofa, "I'm just gonna...file this away." And as he walked away from the table, Koromaru gave a whimper and a whine before walking away with Junpei. At this point, Yukari knew what was going on.

Without a word, Mitsuru and Akihiko were the last to stand up from the table and walk with the others up the stairs. "Guys, I'm sorry. I-I didn't mean to..." Yukari said in attempted apology, watching as everyone left her at the table. But it wasn't enough; everyone carried on walking up the stairs. And then, the silence came back to Yukari, leaving her to struggle with her message. It was just getting worse and worse for her.

With her friends gone and her words limited, Yukari suffered a long, gruelling and heartbreaking few minutes trying to come up with anything to say to Minato. But unfortunately, nothing was being written. The pen was on the card, but the ink wasn't being used to express anything. There were no words coming out; nothing was good enough.

As the long while passed slowly, Yukari finally broke, dropping her pen and sinking her tired head into her trembling hands, trying her very best stop tears that were starting to build up in the corner of her eyes. But she couldn't stop the sniffles and the painful lump in her throat. Her breathing was shaky, and nothing she could do was effective to stop it.

She didn't mean to shout at her friends, but even when she did, she knew it was her fault and she felt like it cost her some reassurance from the people that mattered most to her at that moment. There was no one to comfort her, no one to stop what she was feeling, and she knew that it was her own fault.

The sound of the entrance door opening was then heard, and a soft slam of the door followed after. Yukari turned her head around to see who it was. Her vision was limited due to the tears, but she could make out that it was Yu who came through the door with what looked like a brand new katana. She then turned back to her front and slumped, hiding her face into her crossed arms on the table.

As Yu hung his jacket up on one of the hooks, he placed his new weapon into the lining so that it could be safe to carry during operations. And when he took of his shoes, he turned around, finding Yukari in the state she was in and knew immediately that there was something wrong.

"Yukari?" he asked for her attention, which after a short moment he didn't get. He walked over to her, hearing the sniffling and wobbly breathing. "Yukari, are you okay?" he asked again, this time getting a response when he put his hand on her shoulder. She lifted her head to show him her tears, and the first thing on her mind was to give the same reply she gave to the others. But this was Yu she was talking to.

"Y-Yeah, I'm..." she began with a feign of happiness, but because of the clear signs, she couldn't fake it,"...no...I'm not..." She trusted Yu to make her feel better, which he was more than willing to do. When Yu asked her what was wrong, she freely told him. With the others, it would've been hard for Yukari to even say a word about it, but she trusted Yu the most out of the whole group, and with him, she wasn't afraid to say anything, the same she wouldn't have been afraid to say anything to Minato.

"Did you go to anyone else about this?" Yu asked as if he was her father. Yukari didn't want to say, but she couldn't deny it. She gave a shake of her head, unable to talk with the lump that was building in her windpipe and slightly ashamed of lying to the others about the state she was in.

"You know we're always there for Yukari, don't you?" he asked again, getting a solemn nod from Yukari as a quick response, "It must be a bit annoying sometimes for us to keep asking you, but it's only because we care about you and want to help you."

"...I know..." Yukari said, starting to quell the pain from her throat, "...it's just that...when they do try to help me, they don't fully understand what I'm going through...it's as if I can't talk to anyone about my problems anymore..." Yu could understand what she was saying. This problem had been going on for two years and it hasn't let up. But then, Yukari felt like she found her help. "But you're the only one who really understands, Yu. No matter how many times I cry, you don't give up on me."

As Yukari said this, Yu looked over to the stairs to find Mitsuru approaching the two with folded arms and a look that expressed her want to help Yukari. "And neither do we." she said, getting Yukari's attention and turning her head towards her. Mitsuru took a seat next to Yukari a wrapped a friendly arm around her shoulder. "...I know you don't," Yukari replied with a low level of confidence that she did, "I'm really sorry Mitsuru-senpai...I didn't mean to shout at any of you." Mitsuru felt like she already accepted her apology the first time and gestured for her to stop the second with a smile that showed her forgiveness.

"You see, Yukari?" Yu asked her again, "If you cried for two years, or even two-hundred years, we'll still be there for you. We wouldn't just abandon you to suffer; that's definitely not what friends are for."

Yukari put on a genuine smile for the two, knowing who her friends are and knowing that there will always be help for her. "Thanks you guys..." she said with gratitude, getting nods from the both of them with the smile that matched hers.

"So, what did you need help with?" Mitsuru asked of her again if she needed any help, which Yukari immediately accepted. And with that, Mitsuru and Yu did everything they could to help her with her message to Minato. Whether it was a message, a poem, song or lament, they gave her the help she needed.

The blank card she once had for Minato in a matter of a few short minutes had large sentences and poetic language that was structured neatly within the space provided. And soon, when there was no more space to write anything else, Yukari felt pleased with what she finally had. And the words she wanted to say to him were to her liking; truthful and genuine.

**Seventeenth chapter done! Geez, I'm bringing out a lot of chapters this month...must be the energy drinks! Anyway, keep reading and reviewing and I will see you in the eighteenth chapter! CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Yosuke: We haven't been fighting a lot lately, have we?_

_Chie: Well... don't freak out, but..._

_Yosuke: Wait... you kissed me?_

_Chie: It's true... but... do you feel the same way about me?_


	18. The Unlikely Couple

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Eighteen_

_The Unlikely Couple_

**What would it be today guys! Welp, here it is! The eighteenth chapter! I hope you guys are enjoying the lovely flow and pace of chapters...it's really a drug for me during the holidays now! Anyway, it's been a long time coming, and what you are about to see below is...get ready...another pairing! Yep, I said it! You heard me! But instead of just talking about it...LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0805 - Afternoon_

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><p>For the rest of the day, it was nothing but glum for everyone, especially for those who wrote their messages for the next day, which would seem to be like every other day; with the same atmosphere, gloomy expressions and heavy rain. When the day comes, it wouldn't be a surprise if it ended without tears.<p>

Yosuke was one among others who were feeling this way. But after coming out his shower with a towel wrapped around his waist, he felt relieved after washing away some of the depression. The only thing that made it come back though was when he kept finding his card to Saki on his bedside table.

He tried every method to refrain himself from dwelling on his feelings, but nothing worked. He walked to his window and looked outside into the darkness of the night, watching the shapeshifting of the light from the lampposts that were caused by the running droplets of rain that raced to the bottom. He sighed as he did this, calling the memories to his mind without intention.

A short moment passed, and unexpectedly, a few soft knocks were heard at his door. Yosuke didn't bother looking through the eyepiece in the door, and didn't really mind who would walk through it. "It's open..." he called for the one behind the door, hearing the door slowly creak open. He looked at the reflection of the window to see who it was. And as they walked through, he could see that it was Chie.

Upon walking through the doorframe, Chie immediately found the bare top half of Yosuke's body, and when he turned round, she found his chest. She looked away when she saw his muscular pecks, hiding away her hard blushes. "Are you feeling okay, Yosuke?" she asked him with a nervous tone.

"Getting there..." Yosuke mumbled with a sigh, walking away from his window and sitting on the bed. He leaned his body forward and dropped his head to the floor, closing his eyes and squinting them when an awful memory came to mind.

Just looking at him made Chie feel a great sympathy for him, and the urge to comfort him made her all the more willing to help him. She walked over to him and sat next to him on his bed, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder, but only friendly in case she would think that she went too far with it.

"...Thanks for helping me with the card today." he mumbled again with thanks, trying to get some conversation going. "Urm...your welcome. But, you did write all of it...so it's no big deal." she answered with the nervous disposition getting the best of her.

Yosuke had only gone with it up to this point, but even then he still found it odd that Chie was being more kinder to him than ever before rather than the other way round and fighting each other. He didn't want to question it because of the situation he was in, but his curiosity was aroused.

"We haven't been fighting a lot lately, have we?" he asked to break the awkward silence. Yosuke may have found it odd, but Chie found it as a positive thing, happy to know that he noticed it. "I'm glad we aren't..." she replied with a smile, which only made Yosuke more suspicious about why this was happening between the two of them.

He lifted his head up to her and scratched the back of his head with a look of confusion. But he was also glad that they weren't fighting anymore, and because of it, he wanted to ask why Chie was being so caring of him in the nicest way he could. "It's nice that you're being, well...nice to me, Chie..." Yosuke began, phrasing his question in his head, "...but, what brought this about? Did something happen?"

Immediately, Chie panicked, but kept her look neutral for him to not notice. She knew too well what made her kindness happen and just thinking about it made her heart lurch. Her mind buzzed with different excuses to give him, both convincing and invalid, and they were all too hard to pick out. In the end, she didn't use any of the excuses she thought up and gave in to the lies. The only thing she could do was to tell him the truth.

"Well...don't freak out, but..." she began, bringing a suspicious look to Yosuke's face. From there, Chie told him all about that night during the operation when the Investigation Team were faced against the Shadow that belonged to Mitsuru, and when it used an ailment move to inflict charm on him. She mentioned his loss of memory and filled in the gaps that were missing from his mind. And when she dropped the bombshell, Yosuke's look showed realisation and he was slightly gobsmacked.

"Wait...you kissed me?" Yosuke asked with some expression of disbelief, getting a hesitant nod from Chie. He looked at her for any sign of a lie, but when he couldn't find any, he couldn't help but accept it. "So that's why you've been acting differently." he said again with realisation.

His expression may have been clear, but Chie desperately wanted to know what he was feeling, even though she was scared to know. But when she examined his look further, she could tell that he was unsure about what to feel.

"I'm sorry, Yosuke. But it's true," Chie said in confirmation for Yosuke, "I didn't think it would come to this. But...do you feel the same way about me?" Upon being asked, Yosuke still wasn't a hundred-percent sure of what he wanted to feel for Chie. The same look he had wasn't letting up, and he stared at a blank nearby wall to sort and organise his thoughts and feelings, which took longer than he wanted.

After a long while, Chie started to theorise his final answer and began to feel rejected by what Yosuke might say. In the end, she just gave in and stood up from the bed, facing herself towards the door.

"I get it..." she muttered, "...I'll...I'll just go." And with that, she walked towards to door, saddened and disheartened to even talk to him again. She walked slowly in case Yosuke had any second thoughts, but when she reached the door, she knew that it wasn't going to happen.

Suddenly though, when she just reached for the doorknob, she was instantly stopped by a hold of her hand. She was then pulled away from the door and turned around to face Yosuke, who was stood in front of her with his hand holding hers. He then brought his other hand up to hold both of her hands. As this happened, Chie's cheeks blushed a radiant red but, like Yosuke was, she wasn't sure of what to express.

"I guess I could say that...I do feel the same way about you..." Yosuke said, lifting Chie's spirits up by a large margin and putting a passionate smile on her face. But when she looked at his face closely, she could see that his expression of difficulty told her that it wasn't set in stone yet. In fact, she knew that she was going to be faced with something that would probably crush her. "...but..." Yosuke spoke again, saying the word Chie didn't want to hear, "...I can't bring myself to start this off just yet."

Chie was devastated inside to know that Yosuke wouldn't accept her, but at the same time, she understood why. She knew that the next day was when the memorial event was taking place and that he was going to say his final farewell to her when the time comes. "...I hope you can understand, Chie."

Chie didn't say anything, but instead dropped her eyes to the floor and slightly lowered her head. A short while passed and Chie didn't make any movement whatsoever, which made Yosuke worry slightly. He bent down to get a view of her hidden face and struggled in doing so because of her fringe.

"Chie?" Yosuke asked her, hoping that he would get a positive response. But, as he expected, she didn't answer and he could only sigh at the fact that she couldn't bear to walk out the door without accepting a relationship with her. He slowly guided her hands to her side and let them go, returning his hands to his own sides.

Suddenly, Chie's hands were quickly pressed on his chest, and she quickly darted her head towards him, pressing her lips against his to steal a kiss from him. As Chie then brought her head back, she looked into his eyes. At first, she found shock in his expression, and immediately regretted what she had done. "I'm sorry." Chie apologised for her desperation.

She was weak to resist, and as a result there was really no way she could make up for it. But then Yosuke's expression also changed to desperation and performed the same action Chie did and pressed his lips against hers.

When this happened, Chie and Yosuke couldn't help it anymore and wrapped each other's arms around one another in a passionate embrace, caressing one another's lips in an outpour of strong emotion. Thoughts of regret were running through their heads at the time, but their feelings were totally out of their control. Yosuke looked towards the door for a brief moment to find it open and quickly rushed towards it to slam it shut and turn the lock with a rapid twist.

During that tender moment, Chie finally found her happiness with Yosuke and the gap in her heart was finally filled with what she strived for. And it was because of this that Yosuke's depression was quelled by the knowledge of someone who was lovingly going to be at his side, even though he had fights with them in the past.

But this only happened for a short while. As they gradually took control of themselves, they pulled away from each other and looked at one another with shocked expressions. Their affections were still strong, but the realisation was much stronger. Their jaws hung as their thoughts came into organisation and they were both thinking the same thing.

"_Oh god..."_

Chie quickly pulled herself from Yosuke and ran to the door, swinging it open and slamming it behind her. But instead of leaving the door, she laid her back against it, thinking about what she had done and what Yosuke would think when tomorrow comes. Yosuke, on the other side of the door, was also going through the same process. He dwelled his thoughts on himself, feeling as if he took advantage of Chie. They both laid their backs against the door with regrets taking over their minds and wondering if they were willing to even face each other again.

When the drama subsided, Yosuke made sure to not take a step outside of his room for the rest of the night, as did Chie who made sure to to not approach his door, not just for that night but maybe ever again.

**Ooh drama! It's a short chapter, but it's a chapter! Anyway, keep reading and reviewing and get ready for the next victim to enter the TV in the next chapter! Who do you think it's going to be? CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Yukari: So... we're pretty much stuck on who to blame. There's virtually no one we know who has any connection with us..._

_Akihiko: But you don't mean... there's a second culprit?_

_?: Go on, little one._

_Yu: KEN!_


	19. Kidnapped

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Nineteen_

_Kidnapped_

**Hello for the nineteenth time this story guys! Why the nineteenth? The clue is on the above! So, who's preordered their copy of Persona 4: Arena? I sure as hell I am! Anyway, there's virtually no announcements today, so without further ado...LET'S GET-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0805 - Evening_

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><p>Once again, the fireplace was lit with a fresh pile of oakwood to keep the cold room vented with the much needed heat. But even though the rain and cold temperature was keeping everyone from a good summer and a chance to wear less clothing than they have now, they felt used to what they were dealing with and the glow of the fireplace made the atmosphere very cosy and comforting.<p>

All was there and accounted for except for Yosuke. Some of the Investigation Team were wondering why he wasn't with them and made up a few ideas, ranging from thoughts of illness to ridiculous conceptions, of where he was. But only Chie knew where he was and why, and still felt the same guilt she felt earlier on when she was with him. And because of it, she lost focus on the meeting's discussion.

Ken was also disheartened to join the conversations and sat with his head lowered to his card to his mother. He blocked out the noisy chatter around him and just entered his mental states, reminiscing the time he could vaguely remember with his mother.

"Why can't I remember?" Junpei asked himself in a shout, slapping his forehead as if to force himself to make the memory come back, "I'm definitely not tripping though, I know there was someone there; I'm sure of it!" He sat there with head dropping to the floor in thought and frustration as did other people who felt the same way.

Everyone was sat in the lounge with heads facing towards Junpei, in the knowledge that he was the recent victim who ended up in the TV world, which now and always have been for unknown clues on who the mystery person is who has been doing all of this. What made it worse was that it was Junpei they were asking of; it wouldn't be too much of a surprise if he didn't know or had forgotten.

"So you can't remember who threw you into the TV?" Naoto asked, with eyes closed to focus on piecing her thoughts together. Junpei tried to think some more when asked, but after a while of hard thinking, he gave in and hung his head off of his neck, shaking it in defeat and feeling somewhat ashamed for not remembering.

They all got involved in the discussion; all except for Yu who knew more than anyone in the room of who the culprit was. But he didn't say a word to anyone about him for his own crucial reasons. _"Should I tell them about him?" _he thought to himself, _"No...I've seen what he is capable of...he's like the other hood, he's quick to react to anything, he's even aware of my own actions. How else would he had known we were in the TV world. If I told them, I dread to think what he would do."_

Kanji noticed Yu's lack of involvement and saw his dull impression that fixated his eyes on the floor. He brought a hand up to his shoulder and shook him slightly. "Hey, earth to Senpai!" he raised his voice after the first shake didn't get any reaction. As he shook him again, Yu's head shot up in realisation to Kanji's voice and looked towards him with an expression of cluelessness. "You feeling alright?" Kanji asked.

"Huh? Erm...yeah. I was just thinking." Yu said, keeping his look neutral in case anyone would ask. But everyone looked to him for what he was supposedly thinking of. Yu couldn't say it was an excuse and he knew he had to start thinking which, when he did, brought a few ideas to mind using the knowledge he learned from his experience with the culprit the night before.

"Well, I was thinking along the lines of this:" Yu began, "the Midnight Channel had come back for unknown reasons. But the culprit's own use of it falls within the same circumstances as it did with us." As he explained his deductions, it sounded very obvious to the other Investigation members but he found intriguing looks from couch to couch. He continued, "And from what I gather, the motives the culprit have would match those that Namatame had when some of us were thrown into the TV."

It was strange at first for some to hear that Namatame was brought into where Yu was getting at, but when he stopped to think for a moment, he found other things to add. "But clearly we can't blame Namatame because he saw the errors of what he was doing."

"Now, we could say we could blame Adachi," Naoto joined the discussion, leaving off after Yu, "but as we know, he's locked up. We would have heard anything on the news if he escaped to do something like this, and he would have to know the entirety of S.E.E.S if he wanted to throw you int the TV."

"So..." Yukari added, "...we're pretty much stuck on who to blame. There's virtually no one we know who has any connection with us that would do something like this, let alone even know about the Midnight Channel." In the knowledge of what Yukari said, everyone, even Yu became completely stuck on what to think.

But then suddenly, Fuuka brought up another matter. "There was something else though wasn't there?" she asked Yu, "It was when you mentioned the culprit at Paulownia Mall. You said he was the one who took Minato's possessions and you couldn't see his face?" Immediately, the memory hit Yu like a train and remembered the scar that he was given on his face. Everyone else also remembered this happening, expect for Akihiko, and questioned themselves as to why they left it up until now.

"Of course!" Teddie shouted in his usual overdramatic voice, "If Sensei witnessed the culprit, then surely it must be him that's throwing you all into the TV! Case closed!" As Teddie said this, it encouraged everyone into believing that it was definitely the same person. But Yu knew all too well that it was a completely different culprit altogether. Instantly, his mind found a complication in the sequence of events, managing to make one of the culprits known to his cohorts and keeping the other a secret.

But he couldn't leave them all to believe that there was only one culprit and had to bring the other in without putting his friends in a potential danger and so that everyone can agree on it. "I'm not too sure about that Teddie..." Yu argued against Teddie's view, struggling to find a convincing argument. Everyone was confident with what Teddie had said and they all looked to their leader for anything that might be valid.

After a quick moment of thinking, Yu found something. "...If you ask me, the one who was putting everyone into the TV might only just be committing to that crime. If he were to steal Minato's possessions as well as his body, then the purpose of stealing him in the first place is defeated. Don't you agree?" he said with his best persuasive voice.

Strangely enough, everyone took into account what Yu was getting at, and immediately talked them into disregarding what they first thought. "That does make sense..." Akihiko commented, rubbing the side of his head in thought before realising what Yu was suggesting, "...but you don't mean...there's a second culprit?"

When Akihiko mentioned it, everyone but Yu gasped at the large amount of sense it made, shocked at the thought of it. They didn't even want to think about it, but even when they tried to argue against it, nothing was convincing enough.

"That's what I think as well," Yu said, almost apologetically, "but that's not to say that they aren't connected cases. Now I know I said that there was a problem with that, but this is what I think:" He took a moment to recollect his memories and thoughts together before phrasing it in his head to let it make sense to the others. He continued, "When we first heard about the disappearance of Minato's body, the Midnight Channel aired the next day...that to me is suspicious, and it just doesn't seem like a coincidence. There has to be a reason why the Midnight Channel aired again. There has to be a reason why Minato's possessions were stolen along with his body. But ultimately, there has to be a connection between the two crimes as well as the culprits."

With what Yu had explained, everyone felt like they finally had a lead. But one thing was for sure; their goal to find these two culprits. "The one I saw shrouded his face in a hood. I'm assuming the other is as well. They shouldn't be too hard to miss." Yu added for clarification. With their goals set, the meeting ended and everyone felt like they progressed further in their investigation.

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><p><em>0805 - Late Night_

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><p>The night nearly turned to midnight and everyone was not only exhausted physically, but mentall as well from their long discussion. They all each said their goodnights to each other before walking up the staircase to their respective floors and rooms. Yu stayed downstairs to look in the nearby fridge, examining the many things he could use as ingredients to cook up a breakfast for the next morning. When he found every necessary ingredient needed for what he wanted to do he shut the fridge.<p>

When he turned round to main sitting area, he found unexpectedly found Ken still sitting on the sofa with his head lowered and the card he made for his mother in his hands. Yu knew immediately what it was about and was more than willing to help him out, walking over to him with concern.

"Ken? Are you okay?" he asked him as he walked towards him, sitting next to him afterwards. Ken didn't give a response, but only gave a shake of the head in silence. When Yu looked to his card, he saw the word 'Mom' in big letters at the top and straight away knew that he was in a bereavement state and that the next day was the one thing in his mind.

"Oh Ken...I'm so sorry..." Yu apologised with a great sympathy for the youngest member. Ken finally lifted his head up to him, comforted to know that he cared about him and his condition. "There's no need to apologise, Yu..." Ken replied, forcing a smile on his face, which didn't last long and disappeared when he looked back to his card. He knew that bottling it up within himself will only make him suffer more, and decided to tell Yu the dark story which lingered in his subconscious ever since it happened.

"...I can't remember my mom all that well, but I remember that night so well that I can't even ignore it for a second..." he began almost reluctantly, "...I was only little when it happened; when my mom died right in front of my eyes..."

"Are you sure you want to tell me, Ken? It's seems quite personal..." Yu asked him, only so that he wouldn't make him upset. But Ken insisted, "No, I've kept it too myself for so long that I didn't really share it with anyone. And it's the only way I can progress." Yu couldn't argue against it and gestured politely for the continuation almost as if he gave in to a plea.

Ken continued, "She died by the hands of a Persona; a Persona that went berserk and became uncontrollable..." Mentioning this made Yu gasp at the thought of it, but there was more. "...A few years ago, I nearly killed the one who summoned it that night. The worst part was...it was my friend..." Ken's voice started to croak and wobble as he leant forward with his face pressed into the palms of his hands.

Yu put a hand on his back and rubbed it in a circular motion to comfort him. "Hey, hey..." he said softly to the broken infant. Yu continued to do this until Ken lifted his head back up to plant his face on his shoulder, weeping into his shirt. "I forgive you though," Ken mumbled through his sobs, which slightly confused Yu at first, "I forgive you Shinjiro!" And as soon as the name of the person was mentioned, Yu gasped with a slight shock of the familiarity of the name.

"Ken..." he said, feeling his sadness as the little boy soaked his tears into the cotton of Yu shirt, "...that must have been horrible...and you were only a small child back then."

A long moment passed as Ken let out his sorrows in front of the most trustworthy person he ever met and the tears started to sting his eyes. But as after a while, the tears started to subside and he rose from Yu's shoulder, wiping the remaining droplets from the corners of his peripherals. "You feeling alright now little man?" Yu asked him, as if he was his father figure. Ken faced him with a small smile on his face, nodding his head whilst drying his face.

"You must be dehydrated after that. Are you thirsty?" Yu asked again, which Ken quickly responded to with another nod of his head. He then rose from his seat and walked towards the kitchen section of the dorm, grabbing a glass out of the cupboard and holding it under the nearby tap.

As he slowly ran the water into the glass, he took a moment to sink in the ending to Ken's story. He remembered Shinjiro from the night he and the others rescued Akihiko from the TV world and found it quite hard to even imagine him to cause an accident like that. But even trying to imagine that event put an awful image in Yu's mind and it even reminded him of Yosuke and his second time of being a victim to the Midnight Channel. The feeling of nearly losing a best friend was something he was familiar with, and he could see that with Ken.

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><p><em>0806 - Midnight_

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><p>Suddenly, a piercing sound entered Yu's ears. It sounded static and it had some volume of white noise in it. But the worse thing about it was, when he turned around, the small TV that sat in front of the sofas were flickering different shades of green whilst screeching its familiar high and low pitch frequencies. It was the Midnight Channel.<p>

Upon further examination, a silhouette came up on the screen, depicting what looked like a female figure in a shadowed outline. The figure looked middle-aged, but apart from that, there was nothing from he was seeing that was familiar. But when he looked towards Ken, he was standing up from his seat and walking towards the TV as if he became a zombie in a split-second. There was literally no expression on his face when he did this, and when he stood in front of it, his eyes lit a sort of murky green.

"Ken?" Yu asked for his attention. But Ken didn't answer, let alone make any response. "Ken?" he asked again in a shout for any sign of him listening, but to no avail.

When Yu began to walk towards him, a figure suddenly buzzed next to the TV with a flash of static materialising his body into view, stopping Yu in his tracks when he saw him. The brown casual trench-coat and hood were the two key things that found him familiar and immediately told him that it was the boy from the last operation with Junpei and Koromaru's rescue.

"So it is you!" Yu shouted in anger when the boy faced him. But the boy just ignored him and turned to Ken. "Go on little on," he spoke with a cynical tone which worried Yu when he said those words, "your mother is waiting for you. Live the life you should have had with her."

As Ken took another step forward towards the TV, Yu reacted quickly as he sprinted towards him, holding out his arm in the hope that he would grab him before he could enter the screen. But when Ken placed his arm into the TV, the screen engulfed the whole of his hand in its ripples. And in a split second, it sucked his whole body in, followed by Yu's arm which narrowly missed Ken by a few crucial inches.

"KEN!" Yu shouted in failure, unable to fit himself into the small flat-screen TV to give his effort to save the small innocent. A short while after he lost Ken to the Midnight Channel, Yu dropped his head to the floor with hatred for the boy next to him which he found wasn't worth shouted at. Yu's breathing indicated anger and hostility, and he was on the verge of letting it all out.

"What a waste of effort," the boy spoke as if trying to antagonise Yu, "you know when someone's going to end up falling in there, yet you always manage to let them slip out of your fingers."

"Shut up!" Yu yelled in an outpour of hatred, getting up from his knees and attempting to throw a fist at the shrouded figure with everything he had that fuelled his anger. But the boy blocked the attack and even managed to counter it by pushing him to the floor by a large distance.

"Like I said, a waste of effort." the boy said again before disappearing from the area in another buzz of TV static. Yu was then left to remind himself of being powerless to save Ken from enduring the horrors of the TV world, which he now had put him in. He slammed his clenched fist into the carpet with a grunt of self-hatred.

By the time Yu had gotten back up to his feet, everyone, including Yosuke, quickly ran downstairs to join Yu. They were all equally as worried as he was. "Yu, where's Ken?" Akihiko asked with the greatest worry and fright. But when he saw Yu's look of devastation, he knew, along with the others, that the news wasn't good. And when he looked towards the TV which Ken climbed into everyone looked with him with the same expression he had.

"It was him..." Yu spoke, with a thought of the boy that he despised so much, "The culprit...he was here...he took Ken."

**And there we go, another cliffhanger! Anyway guys, keep reading and reviewing and I will spruce up another chapter all of you! So, Ken eh? What will become of him? I'll leave that to you to think of! CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Junpei: ... I really don't want to go back there. And I'm sure Koro-chan would agree with me on this one._

_Yu: Hey, wait!_

_?: ... The high and mighty leader pulls an angry look. That's not like you._

_Shadow Ken: Everyone just accepts what they want to believe up there... I wish they would all just die!_


	20. Cold Lanterns

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Twenty_

_Cold Lanterns_

**Well, happy twentieth greeting to you guys! It's the twentieth chapter! It won't be long until I go to the USA in early August. Remember guys, this is when I won't be chapter writing for some time. There'll be a reminder on my profile in case anyone forgets! Looks like there's no announcements again, so LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0806 - Midnight - The TV World_

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><p>Delving back into the depths of the desire-ridden world, Yu was more determined than ever to make this operation successful and everyone was awake and willing to make it happen as well. But even though the normal routine of losing one person and rescuing that one person was easy to follow, they all felt that they lost a crucial member like they did a couple of nights before. Ken might have been the youngest of the group with the exception of Koromaru, but they all knew that he was a strong member as well, and the worries of his Shadow ever showing up rose to new heights.<p>

Yu also set a different atmosphere when they all gathered together around the platform with the Midnight Channel insignia. Instead of his calm and collective personality as a leader, he felt urgent towards the situation and just the sight of the fog made him a little uneasy, giving him thoughts as to if he would confront the trench-coated boy again.

"That's weird..." Rise said behind Kanzeon's crown, "...I've found Ken, but at the moment I'm getting readings that he's in the dungeon that we've already been to; the one where we fought Junpei and Koromaru's Shadows..." It didn't seem so much as 'weird' to everyone else, but they felt like they understood why.

"The Memorial?" Junpei asked, knowing too well what Rise was talking about, "...I really don't want to go back there. And I'm sure Koro-chan would agree with me on this one." At first, he felt put off but he knew as much as everyone else that they couldn't afford to lose a teammate, especially when it is Ken.

"But there's something different about it this time..." Fuuka said in echoes from Juno, "The surroundings at the Memorial have changed slightly. We should be careful when approaching it." Yu had taken Fuuka's concerns into account, but to him time was of the essence and he felt the need to compensate for his failure of preventing Ken from entering the TV in the first place.

Suddenly, as he looked into the fog that surrounded the platform, a shady figure was seen in the distance. But when he examined the outline of that person, the head seemed to resemble that of a hood, and immediately he knew that it was the hooded trench-coat that taunted him in the misty background.

At first, Yu didn't want to take notice of him and focus on Ken's rescue, but as the boy turned his body around and ran deeper into the fog, Yu remembered the way to the the Memorial and saw that he was running in that exact direction.

"Hey, wait!" Yu yelled out to the boy before sprinting into the fog. When everyone saw this, they quickly reacted and tried to run with him. But when Yu only became an inch deep into the abnormal thickness of the fog, they instantly lost him and tried to keep up with him if they were to find him again.

While they did this, Yu gave all his effort to keep the boy within his limited sight and overcame his struggles when sprinting was becoming a hard task. There were fortunately no obstacles to stop Yu, and throughout the duration of the pursuit, he kept his legs moving after the aches and pains he could feel in his muscles after the long period of time.

But eventually, the hooded boy stopped in his tracks and quickly turned round to Yu who also stopped just a short distance from him. Yu was slightly hunched over to catch his breath and an unlikely eye of fury that creased his eyebrows behind the lenses of his glasses. "Well, that's an ugly sight..." the trench-coat spoke, not showing a sign of fatigue from the running, "...The high and mighty leader pulls an angry look. That's not like you."

"What?" Yu asked him with a raise of his eyebrows, "You don't know me..." But as he said this, he felt like he went off topic and even off task. He shook his head vigorously to shake off the previous conversation. "But that's not important...you lead Ken here, so where is he? And if you're thinking about saying anything cryptic, you can forget it!"

"It's not within my business to tell you that," the boy spoke with stern, "besides, it won't benefit me or the other one."

"Business? So there is a reason you're doing this..." Yu said, trying to collect as much information as he could out of the boy.

"Of course there is. But your meddling here just makes it so difficult to even get rid of one of you. You could say that we underestimated all of you."

"You just lead us in here just to get us murdered by our own Shadows? This is exactly how Adachi did it, except he did it out of vengeance. But your purpose is unclear. You might not even have a real purpose at all!"

"Oh, believe me we have a purpose. But, as a detective, it's your job to work it out. I'm not going to say anything more tonight apart from this..."

Yu was ready to listen to what the trench-coat was about to say, but when he left a pause, it gave him an opportunity to mess him about. In an instant flash, the boy rushed to Yu and grabbed the chest of his jacket, lifting him in the air helplessly and watching him try to squirm out of his grasp.

"It was a big mistake letting your other friends know about me and my companion. And because of that, I'm in the mood to cause some havoc to you all..." the boy spoke in a cynical tone, "...but things will get even uglier if you keep saving them. So, just to make it easy for you to understand...Stop saving them." the boy said finally as his message.

The message seemed very fearful if not heeded, but Yu knew too well that he wasn't in any way prepared to do what the trench-coat was telling him. To him, the message was completely futile, but he couldn't help but think where he had heard that sequence of words before.

"You can forget it..." Yu said with a solemn tone, trying everything to get out of the boy's grasp, "Now get off me!" He then gave a wide swing of his arm to throw a second punch at the trench-coat. As the fist was propelled into his hood, the boy recoiled at the attack and as a result lost his grip on Yu's collar.

Yu looked to the boy for any other expected movement, and when he did, he found something that he never found on his person before. Upon recoiling, something that looked like a tie, that was wrapped around his neck, slipped out of his trench-coat. But what made it so shockingly familiar was that the tie was of a blood-red colour. Yu couldn't help that he had seen that tie before and the message that the boy gave him coincided with the familiar aspect of it.

"Fisticuffs now?" the trench-coat asked in mockery as he rubbed the pain away, "You're full of terrible surprises tonight!" Yu didn't want to show his anger any more than he did then and tried not to let it get to him, but after getting a slight satisfaction of possibly bruising him, nothing seemed to be making the boy angered in any way; only indulgent.

"I'm a fair man though...I'll let you try and rescue the kid." the trench-coat finally said before turning his back to him. Yu was annoyed for the boy to think of Ken lightly, but he just wanted the boy out of his sight for that moment. As the boy walked into the fog, he gave another snap of his fingers to clear the fog with a huge gust of wind.

When the surrounding thickness of the fog was swept away, the boy was nowhere to be seen despite making a slow exit from the area. But Yu didn't think upon it too much and felt relieved of his hatred towards his enemy, knowing that he couldn't see him anymore.

With the surroundings around him cleared of any obstruction of sight, he looked around where he was and immediately found a set of stairs; the same stairs that lead to the Memorial which stood at the top. But like Fuuka said at the beginning of the operation, things have changed slightly since the last time he and the others came to these stairs.

As Yu's eyes followed up the stairs, there were lanterns of equal number on both sides of the staircase and all of them were lit with bright orange flames. But there was something peculiar about them all. He walked up to one of the lanterns and held his hand over the lantern, but instead of feeling heat, it felt colder than the air he was standing in. The steam from the freeze of the dark flames fell to Yu's feet, giving him a cold sensation on his legs and making his hairs stand up.

_"These lanterns..." _he thought to himself, _"...these lanterns are the ones provided for the Memorial." _The symbols on the lanterns and the materials used to make the lanterns were all the same as the ones he had come across. But the heat of the flame wasn't there; only the freezing touch of one's own suppressed emotions.

"Yu!" shouted a voice from behind him, catching his attention. As Yu turned round, everyone ran to him and took a short moment to catch their breath. "I know you were a good runner in sports club Yu, but you could've at least waited for us to catch up!" Yosuke said, hunched over, and supporting himself by holding his knees.

"Why'd you run off like that anyway?" Naoto asked, finding it odd as anyone else else did that Yu ran off into the fog without leading his team properly. Yu looked around the area for the boy once more before turning back to the group. "It was one of the culprits. I was trying to catch him," he replied, "but no, I wasn't able to."

Everyone's suspicions were then quelled from their minds and turned their attention to the entrance of the Memorial and shrine. They all noticed the lanterns on both sides of the staircase and also felt the cold sensation Yu felt when they put their hands against the skins of the lanterns. It was strange to them to feel a burning light feel so cold.

No one said a word on the way up the stairs and the coldness of the lanterns kept them from making any conversation. With every step they took, the worries continued to build, dreading their own thoughts of what had become of Ken. But there was only one way to find out, and the answer lied at the top of the staircase in waiting.

Throughout the duration of climbing steps, Yu contemplated on the boy's remarks to him about his unlikely expressions of anger and hatred. It was only on a small conversation about it, but the way the boy phrased and said it somewhat annoyed him. He questioned his own personality and only came up with excuses as answers. "Why am I getting so worked up?" he asked himself in his thoughts, "I'm not a violent person. I'm not as bad as he is..."

After a while of doing this, they finally reached the top of the staircase and immediately looked towards the former battlefield, gazing around at the small changes in surroundings at the shrine and Memorial.

Around the memorial statue and around the shrines and altars, there were many lanterns that brightened up the cracks and rips in the ground from their last operation. They even contributed to the cold air around them, and the small amounts of frozen steam that fell to the ground created a mist that made the dirt and concrete disappear in its clouds. The mist was deep and when they all walked through it, they all felt as if they stepped in deep snow that was built up as high as everyone's knees.

But that wasn't all. When they all looked to the memorial statue, the words that once had Junpei and Koromaru's loved ones' names on were gone, and it was replaced by the word 'Mom', written in the stone constantly on every side of the statue.

It might have been a beautiful sight back in the real world, but because of the tainting of different shades of green reflecting off of the mist and lanterns, the environment around them was awful to look at, especially when the features were created out of Ken's own desires and suppressed feelings.

"Ken..." Akihiko mumbled to himself whilst fixating his eyes on the statue, remembering the story of Shinjiro's accident that killed Ken's mother. And he also knew that it would be the main thing that will be fuelling the Shadow's strength if it were to show up.

But when everyone looked above the statue, there he was, sitting cross-legged with head lowered into his arms, hiding his face away from view. But there was something different about Ken, and there were features that were applied to his self that were too familiar to even deny what had happened.

It was true though; he has become his own Shadow.

"I wanted to forgive him..." Ken spoke, merging his solemn tone with the uncomfortable resonance of the discorded voice, "...but how can I? Mom was the only family I had left...and the worst part, he made me lose her in my own memories...he still is..." It seemed as if they were all listening to an elegy. But when he brought his head up, it was even more saddening to look at him, even when the golden-yellow were shown from under his eyelids.

He continued, "Everyone is blind to the facts in that world...no one knows the real cause of my mom's death because no one will believe me...everyone just accepts what they want to believe up there...and that hasn't gotten anyone anywhere...I wish they would all just die!"

They all heard the final part of the expression of sorrow loud and clearly and recoiled in shock at what he said. It would have been the last thing they were ever hear from someone like Ken or possibly any other boy his age.

"Ken, what in the world are you saying?" Fuuka shouted to him, almost as if she was calling out to the real Ken that was trapped inside his darker self, "You don't mean that, do you?"

"No one is good for that world...so why live in it? There's always pain and suffering no matter what...and no one will turn to you when you start to cry..." Ken said, straightening his legs from his cross-legged position and slowly stood up on the statue, standing up straight to make himself feel taller than the friends he fought with.

They have all witnessed Shadow's before, but after seeing Ken, they all thought that his Shadow was the darkest they've seen. He was more sombre, more tainted, more broken than all the others.

"I'm not prepared to fight you Ken, not at all," Yu said as he reluctantly drew out his katana, already worried about what the outcome might be at the end of the upcoming battle, "but if that's what it takes...then I'll do everything until I'm broken to bring you back. I'd rather you were back with us safe than down here hurt...and we'll be there to fix you up."

As Yu said this, everyone followed suit and drew out their own weapons, standing in their battle stances with their leader. "So...if you can hear me Ken..." Yu shouted through the Shadow to the real Ken with fears rising, "...hang in there..."

**Twentieth chapter completed! Ooh things are getting tense here now aren't they! Anyway, keep reading and reviewing guys! And I must tell you now, the next chapter might not be out until I come back from holiday which is around the middle of August. I'll get some work done during the time I have now until I go and I'll finish it off when I come back! So, until next time guys! CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Kanji: Err... Naoto?_

_Rise: Kanji! Don't go near her! Something's definitely wrong!_

_Yukari: Wait... the Taurus... isn't Mitsuru...?_

_Shadow Ken: It would be much easier if I could just make them believe me; if I could just control them to believe me..._


	21. Playing With The Zodiac

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Twenty-One_

_Playing With The Zodiac_

**Hello again world! I am back from holiday and ready to write some more chapters for y'all out there! Now, onto a more random-yet-relatable topic...I'M SO EXCITED FOR PERSONA 4: ARENA! For those who live in the USA, how are you liking the game? 'Cause when I was there...man, did that game fly off the shelves fast! I only ever saw one copy throughout the whole holiday! And now that's done and over with...LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0806 - Midnight - The TV World - The Magatsu Memorial_

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><p>Ken, now with his whole being engulfed within the confinements of his own Shadow, was fully willing to take up Yu's reluctant offer for a battle. But unlike the Shadows he had seen before him, there was no maniacal laugh to mock them nor an evil chuckle to set the unsettling atmosphere. There was only the look of solemnity and melancholy. There were no words, just a raise of his head to the skies that suddenly called forth a rage in the darkness that surrounded his body.<p>

As the darkness spread across his skin, it absorbed into his being with an excruciating pain that caused a uncomfortable yell to belt from Ken's lungs, resonating his cries with both his normal voice with the discord that merged wickedly with it. The dark inferno burnt higher and wider and built up its mass with a malicious form. And after a long while of witnessing this, everyone was dreading to see what he would become when the dark shrouds clear.

Suddenly, a burst of energy was forced out from the huge mass of darkness and stretched out across the area, knocking everyone down by the gust of a quick gale that impacted on their bodies. Getting back on their feet was a hard task, especially when the widespread wind was pushing them back down to the ground with a cold sensation that bit and chewed at their skin. As they gradually rose to their stance again, they all turned to Ken and widened their eyes in shock at what they were beholding. Ken was still situated at the top of the memorial statue, but with a form that petrified everyone to the core.

The whole of his body was covered in thick, red armour, but there were two dark triangular spots in the facial area that resembled his menacing eyes. His hair was still the same, but the colour was changed dramatically from light brown to a pitch-black colour that waved gently in the air as if he were underwater. His legs were as thin as Kala-Nemi's were and they were used to spear themselves into the statue, leaving cracks that reflected on his brutal power.

In one cold hand was a wooden spear that had a dangerously sharp knife built into the tip of it, and in the other hand was a bracer that was made into a shield that shone the symbols and signs of the Zodiac in neon orange colours. Across his chest and back and over his shoulders were thick steel strips that were bent and formed into an arcane 'X' design that made him emphasise the amount of strength that was at his disposal. His appearance was chaotic yet sombre and ominous, but it was enough to put everyone off, and just looking at him made them fearful and made them comparing the strong boy they once knew to the ever-more powerful Shadow that stood in the way of a hopeful success to the operation and the safety of their teammate.

They could see that they were a large distance away from Ken, and as they looked around the landscape, they found that everything was pushed outwards and that the battlefield was made much more larger than the last time they fought on the same soil.

"I am a Shadow...the true self..." Ken chanted the words that everyone knew too well to phrase in their own heads, "...I'm doing this for Mom...If you let me live here, I can truly forgive...and I can truly live the life that provides for me..." What he had said was completely different from what the other Shadows had said. It was as if Ken was asking of his closest friends to give him up to the world that was pulling the blinds over his eyes. His plea sounded the same that would have been said from a young child, and it was just difficult for everyone to keep their weapons by their sides without dropping their guard.

But as always, Yu was the first to react and quickly grabbed his Evoker with a sweaty palm, using his open hand to signal everyone to scatter around the battlefield. And when everyone was stood at a safe distance, Yu pointed the barrel to one lobe of his head, placing his finger on the trigger but without pulling it. He then cast his eyes towards Rise and Fuuka for assistance and immediately saw Kanzeon and Juno already scanning Ken for anything useful.

"All right..." Rise called to everyone after her hard concentrating, "...focus on using dark-related attacks if you can! Keep in mind that light attacks won't work!" They all nodded to the given information and started fix their focus upon tactics and strategies to the upcoming battle.

But as soon as anyone could make a move, Fuuka interrupted their train of thought with a sharp gasp. "I have a bad feeling about this Shadow..." she said quietly as she scanned the Shadow further, "...it's that shield. I can feel a strange power within it...be careful everyone!" Mentioning Ken's shield made everyone's heads turn to it and the symbols of the Zodiac were the first things to stand out for them. Immediately, they felt the same way Fuuka did and had to be cautious when dealing offence and defence.

BGM: Saviour – Rise Against / Deep Breath Deep Breath - Persona 3 OST

Only Yu had his Evoker out and he knew that he had to be quick if he wanted to deal the first move, which he did with a hard click of the trigger. As the sound of cracked glass resonated throughout the area and the navy flames spiralled around Yu with a heroic glow, Yoshitsune appeared in front of him with its swords at the ready.

But instead of attacking, the Persona fixated its eyes on the entire group and held its sword up, surrounding the blades with a calm glow. Yoshitsune then gave a flick of each wrist to release the power, Heat Riser, that it called forth to them. As it did this, multicoloured rings surrounded everyone, including Yu, with the strength, defence, precision and agility needed to give everyone that extra push. "Go!" Yu shouted in command as he hastily put away his Evoker. With the power Yu had given them, Naoto and Mitsuru were the first ones to make the attack.

They both ran directly towards the Shadow; Mitsuru with her rapier and Naoto with her Evoker, and watched for any movement from Ken whist focusing on the strategies they thought up.

And just as they thought, Ken started to raise his spear, lifting its massive weight with only what seemed to be little strength in his skinny arms. When Mitsuru saw this, she stopped a reasonable distance in front of him while Naoto continued her sprint. Mitsuru stood her ground as he watched Ken charging his spear towards her, cutting the air resistance to gain speed.

The attack was dealt at such an incredible speed that it was over with in a flash. But with the enhancement in agility bestowed upon by Yoshitsune, she swiped her sword in time to parry the blow. This caused Ken to unleash a fury of hacks and slashes on the redhead, who with only a small portion of effort managed to knock and block out of the way, little did the Shadow know that this was all a distraction.

Whilst this continued, Naoto ran up from Ken and brought her Evoker to her forehead, pulling the trigger with haste to call forth Yamato-Takeru to her side. And with a commanded flick of her index finger, the Persona rushed into the air, hovering around the Shadow with the katana-like weapon gripped in its glove.

Yamato-Takeru pointed its sword towards Ken, causing a huge ring a darkness that spanned around the Shadow with a ghoulish glow. The area which Ken was standing in was frothing with shrouds of black, and the amount of power it was gathering showed the very definition of hazardous. As everyone watched, they all knew it was a fatal attack if done correctly. "Mudoon!" Naoto shouted when the attack was set up.

But despite all of the preparation for what could have been the end of the battle, the darkness just materialised out of thin air and the ring that surrounded the Shadow just broke apart into fading fragments and fell like leaves to the ground, vanishing out of view as they rested on the green soil. "Shoot...!" Naoto whispered to herself in frustration.

After a while of evading the Shadow's attacks, Mitsuru began to feel exhausted and struggled to catch her breath with the large weight that was started to strain on her every time Ken landed an attack on her rapier. But soon enough, with one final block, Mitsuru felt the full brutality on her blade when the Shadow thrusted the spear one last time, pushing her back and leaving her with a weakened arm.

Ken then rapidly turned his body on his waist's axis like Kala-Nemi could and looked directly at Naoto with a furious stare. And before she could do anything, Naoto watched as the Shadow brought up its spear with both hands, holding up into the air so that the light could shine of the knife. She took a few steps back, and before she thought about retreating, the spear cascaded down onto Naoto with a vicious speed.

"Naoto!" shouted Kanji as he rushed as fast as the spear could towards her. He lifted his blunt shield-like weapon in front of him to protect himself from the upcoming attack with one hand and used the other to tackle Naoto out of the way of the spear. After pushing her, the spear impacted on the metal of Kanji's weapon that sent him flying a large distance away from Ken, rolling in the soil when he landed.

He lifted his heavy head to look at the fallen Naoto, spitting out the soil that landed in his teeth. "You alright there?" he called for her in worry, picking himself up in case she was in any condition, despite knowing that he only pushed her over.

"Yes..." Naoto replied loud and clearly, rising to her feet slowly and turning towards him, "...I'm doing just-" But as soon as she was mid-sentence, her body suddenly stiffened into the position she was standing in, widening her eyes in unnecessary shock. Her body language looked robotic and the way she twitched almost viewed her as deranged. Her blue eyes faded into a lighter colour, dropping her eyelids slowly in mental exhaustion. She looked like an entirely different person altogether.

"Err...Naoto?" Kanji asked of her, getting up to his feet quickly after finding something wrong. Naoto didn't say a word and kept the same blank expression on while standing in the same spot, as if she planted her own shoes into the soil.

Kanji began to walk up to her but was straight away stopped by Rise's voice. "Kanji!" she shouted from behind, "Don't go near her! Something's definitely wrong!" It was just as Kanji thought, and that thought seemed to magnify horribly the more he fixated his mind on it. The only thing he could do was to just stay still, watching Naoto for any sudden movement whilst Rise and Fuuka can give their support. The more he looked at her, the more fearful he felt every time he looked into her droopy eyes.

Rise, with the help of Kanzeon, scanned Naoto's condition and after finding the nothing was really wrong on the outside of her, she looked into the inside. Immediately, Rise found the problem. "That's why she's acting weird! Naoto's being controlled!" she shouted, moving Kanzeon's view towards Ken for further examination.

Fuuka was already on the case and felt the same uneasiness she felt upon her last scanning of the Shadow and it was again coming from the shield. But when she looked closer at it, she could see that one of the Zodiac signs was lit brighter than the other eleven, noticing that it was the Taurus sign. "What could that mean?" Fuuka muttered to herself in a deep thought.

She then changed her focus to Naoto and concentrated on her full biology to reveal everything about her, especially and cleverly on her own birthday and Zodiac sign. And when the details came up on a seemingly similar screen to that of a TV, she finally found the source of the problem.

"That's how he's doing it!" she shouted in realisation, "The corresponding Zodiac sign on his shield controls anyone who belongs to it! We need to finish this quickly before Ken chooses another sign!" It wasn't complicated at all after Fuuka explained it; everyone knew what Ken was capable of.

As everyone looked towards his shield to see the brightly-lit Taurus, Yukari was the only one to react with wide eyes and a sense of shock and realisation. "Wait..." she said nervously, "...the Taurus...isn't Mitsuru...?" She looked towards her Senpai before she could even finish her sentence and found her, giving a gasp when she found her in the exact condition Naoto was in.

Everyone beheld their two friends in worry, hearing their groans in struggle for control of their bodies whilst feeling the strain on their muscles when they attempted to re-own them.

Suddenly, they both drew their Evokers out and faced their bodies towards their comrades, unwillingly ready to summon their respective Personas, which made everyone flinch to their evasive stances. And when they both clicked the triggers in unison, Artemisia and Yamato-Takeru appeared in front of them with metal whip and katana grasped in hand.

Artemisia held her metal whip with both hands and after giving it a rapid stretch, a murky, enigmatic stream of mixed dark colours seeped out the plating of the whip with an unsettling feel. The stream was then suddenly split into numbers of swirling whirlpools that everyone knew as the Tentarafoo skill, homing in on each member of the group. Some took evasive action and dodged out of the way anyway they could, and others were cornered and unable to move out of the way of the ailment.

Out of the many, Koromaru, Yukiko, Chie and Akihiko were the ones who suffered the panic that the attack impacted on them. "Guys, don't worry! There's no need to panic!" Rise shouted, hoping to encourage them back into their stride. But their minds were scrambled into thoughts of was worry and anxiety, and they resorted to using only their weapons for defence without any help from their Persona.

As the four struggled to calm themselves down, Yamato-Takeru took to the centre of the battlefield, raising its sword over its helmet head. They watched as the blade began to surround itself with a purple glow which was seemingly resemblant to that of a raging flame on a torch. The panic started to rise and it glued their feet to the ground, frozen with fear and unable to make any movement to get out of the Persona's way.

The only movement they made was a small flinch when Yamato-Takeru rushed up to them with the katana held behind it and the strength in its arms ready deal the Blight skill. And when it reached the panicked few, the swing was made, leaving a trail of purple flames in its wake.

But just in time, Yu, who called Izanagi onto the field to be a personal shield, jumped in front of his teammates in an attempt to protect them. Unfortunately though, upon impact, the katana scarred Izanagi's chest which in turn gave Yu the same pain his Persona was feeling. And when he fell to the ground clutching his psychological wound, the pain didn't seem to let up; it only worsened and it strangely started to make him feel dizzy.

When Rise and Fuuka found that he was finding it hard to keep his balance when standing up, they quickly commanded their Personas to scan his body for any conditions. And it only took a short while to find out what was wrong.

"Yu!" Rise shouted in utter shock when he felt his depleting health, "He's been poisoned! Someone heal him! Quick!" Instantly, after yelling her urgent plea, she looked to everyone for some support, and quickly found it from Teddie. In his bear paw was a small sachet of Dokudami Tea and when he saw Yu, he waddled his way towards his Sensei in a wobbly sprint.

But when he could barely made half the way to him, his body stiffened up, causing him to drop the tea. "W-What's happening?!" he cried out, petrified by his inability to move. What made him more worried however was when his arm was moving with a will of its own. It slipped out of the sleeve of his bear costume and searched around the large space of area within it for his Evoker. And when he could feel the metal that made the device, he made only last gasp before giving his black eye colour in to a greyer one, dropping his eyelids slightly in the process.

Yu, on one knee, tried to look closely at what was happening to Teddie behind his costume, but when he then turned his head to Ken's shield, another Zodiac sign was lit up. And it was of the Cancer. "H...Huh? Teddie has a birthday?" Yu mumbled to himself in question.

"Yu, look out!" Fuuka yelled to him while scanning Teddie's body, "His power's growing stronger! Be careful of his ice skills!" As she shouted this, the sound of Teddie's Evoker was heard and Kamui materialised into view through the cotton and threads of the costume.

Yu couldn't move; the poison was slowing him down to get him back up to his feet and the dizziness from its side-effects weren't helping at all. He needed a plan B, and it only took a short while to find it.

Kamui faced him with the same cheesy grin it dons, but under the Shadow's control the smile looked demented rather than its happy disposition. It then gave a sudden twist of its body to call forth a ring of Mabufudyne pillars to appear around the leader, and when the Persona stretched its back straight the attack was dealt, smashing each pillar around Yu with the shards of ice darting around the area.

But fortunately, this was when Yu's alternative plan came into play. Before Kamui's command on the ice pillars, Yu took out his Evoker and pointed the barrel to his chin. And upon pulling the trigger, he brought out the Persona he felt could get him back on his feet; King Frost.

As the hulking Persona sat behind Yu with staff and crown, it protected him from what the attack was about to bring. Yu didn't need to do anything with King Frost, but only just to sit their in waiting for the ice skill to deal its damage. And when it did, it didn't make any impact at all; King Frost only absorbed the attack, bestowing the much-needed health that Yu needed to regain his strength. But despite all of this, it didn't cure the poison that still ailed him. For that time though, he couldn't waste any more time on fighting his friends or on his own health and had to focus on attacking the Shadow; he just had to deal with it.

With the unreliable sight still troubling him, Yu ran towards Ken, gripping his katana tightly in his palm and focusing his eyes, with some level of difficulty, on where the next attack should be executed.

Soon after, Yukiko, Chie, Akihiko and Koromaru were seen beside him, running with weapons of choice in their hands. Yu looked to his sides to see their smiles of support and turned his eyes to his front to look back at the Shadow. But when he did, the shield lit four more Zodiac signs; the Leo, the Virgo, the Sagittarius and the Aquarius.

As soon as this happened, he felt that something was wrong; with four more signs lit he had an idea of which people belonged to which sign. He could tell, because there were already four teammates running beside him. "Watch out!" Rise shouted to him, "Beside you!"

He looked to his sides again and found the light colours in each of their eyes. And before he could react, Akihiko put a foot in front of Yu's legs and swiped them, tripping him over, rolling him over forwards and landing him on his back.

The landing was painful, but despite it, Yu tried his effort to get up as fast as possible, only to be stopped by a growling Koromaru. Before he could lift his head, Koromaru jumped on his chest and turned his small canine head to the side, showing Yu his Kunai knife along with the blade that was pointed directly at him.

And when Koromaru gave a whip of his head, Yu managed to push his head away from him just in time before the knife could even make contact to his skin. The amount of effort Koromaru was putting in to drive the knife into Yu was staggering for such a small-sized dog, but with one final push, Yu threw the pup away from him.

Whilst no one was around him, Yu got up to his feet straight away, looking around him for any other unexpected attacks. And when he saw Chie coming his way, he knew that he had to put away his katana and use his bare hands instead.

Chie's rushed towards her leader at a phenomenal speed and when she reached him, she lifted herself off of the ground, holding her leg out in front to execute a flying kick to his chest. But with quick reactions from the Heat Riser, he blocked the attack, which only caused more kicks and punches to follow.

Yu remembered this in his time training with her and compared it with what was happening now, and to him it was remarkably similar to those times; he just had to stick to the status quo. With every kick and every jab Chie dealt, Yu just kept blocking, but when she made one last high kick, Yu grabbed her leg and threw her behind him, watching guiltily as she landed on the ground, hard.

Next to face him was Yukiko, who straight away threw her metal-tipped fan towards him with a boomerang throw. Yu didn't see this coming until he actually saw it up close, but with rapid reactions he arched his back backwards along with his neck to dodge the fan. As he did this, the fan passed over his face, only a small fraction of an inch away from his nose.

When he straightened his back again, he saw Yukiko sprinting towards him, holding out her hand for when her fan comes back to her. But Yu had a clever thought and looked behind him, catching the returning fan with a swipe of his hand. And as he faced himself towards his cohort again, he threw the fan in the same fashion Yukiko did towards her legs, sweeping her off the ground upon impact.

Yu quickly looked to the side of him when he heard loud footsteps and immediately found Akihiko in front of him, throwing a punch with he managed to block with the palm of his hand. But instead of pulling his fist away, Akihiko pushed his knuckles towards Yu in the hope that his guard would lower.

After a short while of trying to retain his strength, Yu still wasn't backing down, which caused Akihiko to throw his other fist to him. Fortunately, this fist was blocked as well, but it brought them both to a stalemate and none of them knew what to do to end their struggle with one another.

Suddenly, Akihiko dealt an unexpected head-butt to Yu's forehead, instantly lowering his guard by a large margin. And with Yu's strength lowered, he pushed him onto his back once again into the dirt. But although he was thrown to the ground, the large hit to the head quelled Yu's dizziness, getting back his confidence just in time for his next move on Akihiko.

As the boxer towered over him with a grab of his shoulders, Yu raised his knee towards his chest and gave a powerful kick to the stomach, causing Akihiko to stand on one knee, holding the winded pain in a struggle for breath.

Whilst he was down, Yu wrapped his arms around Akihiko's head sitting up straight to gather power, and when he was ready, he threw Akihiko behind him, hearing with a wince the landing that the boxer felt on his back.

He got up to his feet with the feeling of guilt, looking back at his downed friends with no sense of proudness at all. "No one believed me when I told the police about it..." Ken boomed, "...no one would believe a kid with that kind of information...they thought it was my imagination. How typical...it would be much easier if I could just make them believe me; if I could just control them to believe me..."

Finally able to get up with no interruptions, Yu looked around at fights he had defended himself against and didn't feel proud at all for what he might or might not have done to his own friends. But nonetheless, he continued to make his way towards the Shadow and took another look at Ken's Zodiac shield, noticing that already half of the signs were lit up and done with, and dreading what the other half would bring.

His sprint slowly turned into a jog and the jog gradually turned into exhaustion. At this point, the poison he had been ailed with was slowly degrading him and the will he had left was draining with every step he took. But things were starting to get from bad to worse.

Yu's head looked back up to the shield to find that yet two more signs were activated; the Libra and the Scorpio. And when he saw these two signs on the shield, Yu stopped in his tracks, drawing out his katana in preparation. "Behind you, Yu!" Fuuka warned.

He quickly heeded Fuuka's yell and made a rapid turn of his body to find Yukari and Yosuke heading towards him with Evokers in hand, which they both used in unison to bring out their Personas, Isis and Susano-o.

The two Personas went ahead of their hosts with an incredible speed, gliding and diving their way through the large distance of fog. And when they reached Yu they both unleashed the same magic skill, Magarudyne in the spot where he was standing. He knew that escaping one of these skills was hard enough, but with two of the same skill, he thought it as an impossible task; he was a sitting duck. "Get out of there!" Fuuka cried out, watching the power of the uncontrollable Personas grow.

But when the time came, Isis and Susano-o cast out their wind attacks, bombarding the area which Yu was standing in with tornadoes and twisters alike. The sound of the attacks boomed its echoes around the TV world with a deafening resonance. It was too late for Yu to escape; he was left to suffer the magnitude of wind around him, covering his eyes with his arms as his only protection.

The flurry of attacks continued until the dry dirt and soil created a muddy smokescreen, unable to see clearly what had become of Yu. Those who weren't controlled could only watch in worry.

But then, as the dirt was swept away by the remaining wind, Yu, remarkably, was still standing tall. His Evoker was pointed to his head with the trigger already been pulled. And behind him was the Persona, Scathach who was able to protect Yu with blocks from the dangerous minefield of hurricanes. Yu then made one final command to Scathach before returning it to his psyche. And with a solemn lift of its head, the Persona bestowed the power of Amrita on its host, finally quelling the poison from Yu's body.

And with that, Yu regained a sudden growth in strength to make his counterattack. "Change!" he said to himself, causing Scathach to condense into a tarot card that vanished in its navy light. Another click of the trigger followed, bringing forth Zaou Gongen onto the battlefield.

Yu didn't want Yosuke and Yukari to cause trouble for him, yet he didn't want to hurt them either, so after some thought of what to do with his current Persona, he finally found something that would fit the criteria.

Upon giving Zaou Gongen the command, the Persona took a couple of steps forward and took a handful of the chains that were part of its body, which it then started to rattle to use the Anima Freeze skill. It might have seemed like an odd act, but after a while of hearing the rattles of shackles, Yosuke and Yukari started to feel exhausted and after a moment more, they collapsed to their knees, struggling to get back up to their feet. Yu then returned the Persona back into his psyche when the path was clear and moved on towards Ken.

Eight of the twelve Zodiac signs, only four still remained inactive, and Yu was gradually closing the gap between him and Ken's Shadow. Yu was feeling confident now that the poison had subsided from his bloodstream. But the feeling was cut short when he darted his eyes back to the shield, seeing that one more sign hummed its light to life. And it was of the Capricorn.

Like before, Yu halted to prepare for battle. But before he could build up the willpower to face anyone, he hunched himself over and grabbed his knees for support, trying to catch his breath from the continuous fighting and running.

"Fuuka?" Yu heard a voice from behind him, "Fuuka?!" It was Rise's voice, and as Yu quickly turned round to see what was going on. The marathon he ran made it almost unclear as to what he was seeing because of the large distance he stood from the two supporters. But when he looked closer, he could see Fuuka on her knees staring blankly at the floor with Rise shaking her shoulders vigorously.

Yu couldn't see much from where he was, but it didn't take long before he realised that Fuuka had fallen victim to Ken's control. As he continued to look in case he thought wrong, Rise looked towards him and began to use large gestures that seemed like a warning. "Be careful! They're coming from the sides!" she yelled.

After being startled by such a sudden impending danger, Yu faced his left and right and saw Junpei and Kanji coming in from both directions towards Yu; Kanji with his weapon and Junpei without. Their eyes were the same as everyone else's and their bodies were as stiff as everyone's muscles; it was clear that they were under control. When they reached him, they left Yu no time to draw out his own weapon and with only his reliance on his own instincts.

Kanji readied his blunt, plated weapon in a position that matches the same fashion of a baseball player whilst running. And before Yu could even prepare himself for anything to prevent a catastrophe, Junpei grabbed his hands and brought them behind his back, twisting them so that there would be no escape. Now, trapped and only with a slim chance of getting out of the situation, Yu was in desperate need of an opening. And just only with noticing the way Junpei was holding him, he felt he knew what he needed to do.

When Kanji was stood right in front of Yu, he gave a wide swing of his plated shield and before the hit landed, Yu, with no delay, ducked his head quickly enough so that Junpei was left to take the blow to the head.

Whilst ducking, Yu could hear the crash and twanging sounds of the shield and knew that his escape was successful when he felt Junpei's grip getting looser and looser. Yu wasted no time and shook the baseball capped man off of him, and whilst Kanji was still holding out his weapon, he grabbed hold of the bluntest edge of the plate and stole it with a rapid snatch.

Up until now, Yu didn't want to hurt anyone but somewhere in his mind, he knew that Kanji could probably take the pain. And with no time wasted, he took a giant swing of the plate into Kanji's stomach and the sound of a winded cough was the first thing he heard before the comical wobbly bang of the metal.

Yu stood up straight to look at Kanji. His expression looked the same, and he it was a surprise that he was still standing, but after a couple of seconds Kanji slowly fell onto his back. Yu looked back at Junpei and then Kanji. "Sorry about that guys..." he apologised, even though he knew they probably wouldn't take notice.

Yu turned his body round back to the Shadow, and what he was expecting was another sprint down a long path. But instead, Ken was standing right before him, no more towering over him on the memorial statue; just on his spider-like legs and looking down on the leader like a king.

Yu turned his attention to the shield and noticed that there are only three more Zodiac signs left to activate. "Huh? Three left...but what is he doing?" Yu spoke in his thoughts.

Suddenly, Ken raised his spear and slammed the wood into the ground, causing ripples of enigmatic power to course through the soil and rumble the ground with an uneasy feel. At first, Yu didn't know the purpose of it, but when he saw his own friends gliding past him with a strange light emitting off of their skins and landing softly on their feet to face him, his curiosity was cured; but not in a good way.

"I confided in you..." Ken spoke with his disharmonious tones, "...and you never offered anything that could have helped me...but this world...it's a miracle...I'm not alone anymore...my mom is here..." Ken's words made Yu known to how delusional he was getting by the moment. And he couldn't just stay silent; he had to give a response.

"Ken..." he began, intimidated by the sight of his friends standing at the Shadow's side, fixating their eyes on their leader with demented expressions, "...It's not within my power to bring your mother back, nor do I own it...but this place doesn't have that power either, it's just shows you a mere image...this place is full of lies...this isn't the place for you or any other human being..."

"Shut up!" Ken boomed, slamming the spear to the ground once more to rumble the ground with the magnitude of an earthquake, "You don't know anything of this world! It's no different to the one above! And you believe that finding the true answers to these crimes up there will bring happiness to you? Your so-called 'lies' down here can do all that and more!"

Before Yu could contradict, Ken raised his shield and a burst of light erupted from the signs that were already lit. Again, Yu couldn't understand its purpose, until he looked towards his army of controlled friends, watching them as they all drew out their Evokers in sync with each other. And without warning they pulled the triggers on themselves, causing a gigantic tidal wave of indigo power to wash over Yu from everyone's feet.

Shortly after, their Personas appeared before him, laying eyes on him with a terrifying stare. Because of this, Yu didn't know what to do; each Persona had their own abilities and he only two eyes. Each attack was going to be different, and anything the avoid these attacks would be more than difficult.

Suddenly, the Personas let loose their attacks ranging from small and punishing to massive and devastating, and Yu was left with no option but to survive the outbreaking of friendly fire.

The random forms of assaults they all made on Yu exploded around him with different elements and ailments attempting to do serious damage to the leader. But as fortune may have it, the aggressive bombardments were only dealt around Yu. Although despite it, it did cause him some pain due to mixing elements and placing a few feet out of place. Nonetheless though, he was still standing but with a weakened stance.

The amount of explosions around him made a ringing sound screech in his ears like shell-shock, and soon after, the dizziness started to return. Every sound he once heard was blocked out by the high-pitched noise and the vision he then had almost made it impossible for him to keep his balance.

As the Personas were brought back into the jumbled minds of the unwilling, Yu looked up to the Shadow, watching his spear in the knowledge that it is the one thing Ken has that summons his power. But as he thought, the spear was brought down to the ground with a giant thud to the soil.

What he didn't realise though was the ring of light that appeared around him with an ominous atmosphere where Yu was limping. And in a flash that slightly blinded him, card-like objects were ejected from the ring's edge and rose up from the ground in the fashion of a twister. Yu's sight was too confused to notice that it was another one of many dangerous attacks if it was executed perfectly; the Hamaon skill.

Just in time, something grabbed Yu's wrist with a tight grip and quickly yanked him out of the danger zone with a painful stretch of his skin. As he landed on his back, he covered his eyes from the burning light that burst from the ground within the ring and afterwards tried to look for the one who saved him from a horrible disaster.

Slowly but surely, his sight started to return to him and looking for that person was made much easier. And when he looked behind him, he found Rise holding his wrist in an act of not wanting to let go. When he saw her, they both smiled to each other and helped each other up to their feet. "Don't scare me like that, senpai..." Rise said, trying to catch her breath. Yu was just too exhausted to say anything; he had been through a lot, including the large amount of running and the involuntary fights with his own group.

But then the worst returned and Ken lit yet another Zodiac sign on his shield. Yu looked straight up to it with a look of frustration and found that it was the sign of the Gemini. "Another one?!" Yu shouted, looking back at Rise, "This Shadow is tough, huh? ...Rise?"

When Yu looked into her eyes he put on a shocked expression, noticing that her eyes turned to a paler colour. He got no reply from her and her head started to lower to the floor. "Rise? Rise?!" he shouted to get her attention, and shaking her shoulders to get any response. But both actions didn't get him any notice.

Then, without any warning, Rise was thrown into the air by the control of Ken, and as Yu's eyes followed his lover into the air, he noticed that she wasn't returning to the earth. Instead, she was defying gravity, and by the effect of being taken hostage by such a power her body loosened, hanging her arms, legs and head. She was turned round to face him, motionless and stagnant.

"Ken...what are you doing?!" he shouted in worry to Ken, pleading in the hope that the Shadow wasn't going to do what he dreaded to think. By a slight raise of Ken's head, a long silence filled the air and Yu stood there helpless, looking up at Rise with a fearful glare.

But then, it happened. Rise suddenly arched her head backwards and held her stomach in agony, trying to squirm her way out of a psychological pain that was torturing her inside her body. When Yu saw this, he gasped, choking on the air without intention at the sight of seeing Rise acting this way. "No...stop! Stop it, Ken! You're hurting her!" he cried out.

He quickly drew out his Evoker with a shaken hand and pointed the device to his head, laying his index finger on the trigger. But when he was in the middle of pulling, Ken held out his spear and gave a powerful swipe towards Yu, knocking the Evoker out of his hand and into the fog. And after it had happened, he was rendered helpless. All he could was just stare at the horrible sight, holding his head in his hands to stop the heartbreaking sound of Rise crying from entering his ears.

The shield then glowed and Yu gave his full attention to it, seeing that there were only two signs left, and as far as he could tell it was only him left; all of his friends were taken over. It was either the Aries sign or the Pisces. The first one that glowed active was the Aries, and Yu shut his eyes quickly to block out the thought of becoming one of his friends.

A short while after and Yu didn't feel any different, so he looked back up to the shield for clarification and found that only one more sign was left. This time, there was no escape; once the Pisces is activated, he would undoubtably become controlled. And so, the Pisces was lit.

Yu closed his eyes in defeat within the knowledge that it was all over; everyone including him would be left as zombified in the TV world. The sound of Rise's groaning was the last thing he heard before blocking out everything that was around him. He was left to sit in his own world as a farewell to his imagination, but then there was one last sound of a body dropping. And he knew it was Rise's.

And then after another short while, Yu opened his eyes and looked up to Ken with solemn eyes. The only thing that was missing though, was the loss of free will from his body. He still didn't feel any different. "What the...?" he asked himself in a mutter looking at the Zodiac shield with a puzzled look. Every sign was lit and yet Yu was still within his own mind. "I knew he had already activated my Zodiac sign. It couldn't have been Aries or Pisces. Then again, no one really knows my birthday...well, apart from Rise...argh! What am I thinking?!"

He tried not to dawn his mind on it and ran up to the fallen Rise, kneeling down to pick up her unconscious body. Yu then looked around the masses of friends and had to think of a way to bring his teammates back into the right minds. But as he scanned his eyes around the area, he found that there was something not right about the number of people gathered beside the Shadow. "Wait..." he spoke to his subconscious, "...there's one person missing."

Unexpectedly, a Persona suddenly glided past him with an incredible speed, hurtling towards the Shadow with its gladiator spear charging before it. He then heard footsteps from behind and when he looked, he found Aigis sprinting with her rocket-thrusters giving her the extra speed. She ran past him, following her Persona, Pallas Athena to where it was attacking.

A moment after, and the Persona drove its spear into Ken's Zodiac shield, causing sparks and chunks of thick metal to fly past it as it drilled into its mechanism. As Pallas Athena continued doing this, Ken cried out as he felt the excruciating pain fill his whole body, and when each Zodiac sign was destroyed an explosion followed after, causing the Shadow to recoil off the force of the impact.

When the flames and dirt-clouds cleared from shield's destruction, Yu cast his eyes beyond the remaining lingering soil and saw everyone rushing with each other back to their leader. He looked closely at them all and found that their eye colours had returned to normal and that the stiff body language had finally left their muscles from an uncomfortable pain. They were finally free.

He then turned his eyes back to Aigis, seeing that she was also reuniting with the group. "Yu, the Shadow's down! Now's our chance!" Aigis called for him. As Yu nodded his head, he realised that he still had Rise in his arms. Fortunately, Fuuka was there to help. "Don't worry, I'll take care of her." she offered politely, kneeling down to take Rise's weight from Yu.

As he stood up, he gave one last affectionate gentle squeeze of Rise's hand before turning to the weakened Shadow. He walked forward and led everyone to the final attack, drawing out his Evoker along the way. They all followed suit and pointed the barrel to their minds when Yu did.

"I...! I won't...let you!" Ken screeched, "I won't let you...take my Mom...away from me! JUST LEAVE ME ALONE!"

"I'm sorry, Ken...I am so, so sorry..." Yu apologised upsettingly after hearing his heart-crushing cry. But he knew it had to be done.

Without another second wasted, he pulled the trigger, calling forth Izanagi from his psyche. Everyone else did the same and brought out their respective Personas to stand by their leader. There was no time to stare and no time to stop. "Let's go! All-Out Attack!" Yu yelled as he ran with his friends once again.

With every step they all took, they whipped up the soil behind their heels as they sprinted, yelling at the top of their lungs as they homed in closer and closer to Ken. And when they reached the Shadow, hell broke loose as they attacked and assaulted however they could, creating another smokescreen to hide the violence away. Attacks both magical and physical were thrown in every direction; anything to bring down the Shadow that took their youngest member.

When the exhaustion came in, everyone left the clouds and returned their Personas before they fatigued themselves from overusing their power. All they could do now was watch the smoke clear as they caught their breath and hope that the outcome would be in their favour.

But just as the smoke was sweeping away, the Shadow stretched his back and sprouted itself out from the top of the smoke, crying out in anger yet agony with extended arms and chest. Then at the same time, the little boy everyone knew too well to be the real Ken started limping out of the smoke towards them, looking at them with a blank look of fatigue and enervation. They were all glad that he had finally escaped his constraints, but it wasn't over.

The Shadow, now clutching its wounds was flailing around in decreasing strength, and from what Yu could tell, it was on the brink of collapsing. The worst part was that it was about to collapse on Ken. "Ken! Watch out!" Yu shouted for him, sprinting towards him ready to make a rescue.

Making his way tiresomely towards the boy, he kept his eyes on the Shadow and what he saw made him worried. It dropped its spear and raised its arms into the air as one last gesture before beginning to fall onto its front, where Ken was standing. The Shadow couldn't be stopped now; gravity had taken its hold and Yu had to hurry.

With the Shadow cascading down, Yu reached Ken, who collapsed onto his rear when he arrived. But it wasn't making it easier for Yu, as the chest of the Shadow was just looming above their heads. As a quick thought, Yu picked up Ken like he would cradle a little boy in his arms and used every bit of strength in his legs to sprint out of the hazard zone with the Shadow's falling slowly following behind him.

Despite the shaking of the ground and the exhaustion he was feeling, Yu was in no mindset to give up on getting Ken to safety and made one final push when the sound of the Shadow's chest hitting the ground boomed across the shrines with a deafening ring.

The run was long, but the extra push was the thing that got Yu and Ken back to everyone else in one piece, leaving the 'other' Ken to fall in defeat, creating yet another smokescreen to cover its body in the flying mud. They watched victorious at the foggy remains, and so did Ken, waking up from his brief recovery. "Th...Thank you..." Ken croaked, giving his gracious smile to the people who saved him.

As they turned back to the wreckage, the clouds started to clear, revealing not only the fallen Shadow but the change in the landscape, seeing that everything had returned to the norm. Yu helped Ken back to his feet and like everyone before him, Ken approached his darker counterpart in the familiar expression that he would face himself and that he would find his resolution.

Ken looked down on his shameful self-creation and immediately saw the tears in its eyes. "...What...about Mom...?" the Shadow breathed with a lump in its throat, "...How will you...forgive...him now...? He killed her...why must the good suffer? Why must...the bad prosper?" Like the many Shadows before Ken's, there had always been tough questions to answer and this Shadow was no different in terms of asking questions that had no easy reply.

But Ken had a long thought about it before giving his personal view. "I do forgive him, and surely you must know that as well," Ken began confidently, "He was my friend...he still is. He died to protect me; there was nothing bad about him. He was a good person, because good people suffer so that they can learn from their mistakes...he learned from his mistakes through suffering. And you know? I wish he was still here. With us. So that I could forgive him properly."

Everyone overheard Ken's speech and felt more than proud of him that a boy his age thought of such positive things, and the way he viewed someone he once despised was truly genuine. Even his own Shadow smiled at him for giving such valid answers. Ken returned the smile like the polite sport he was and watched his Shadow's dark ashes as it evaporated into the endless sky above him, fixating his eyes on each speck of what was left of it.

A short moment after, a white light appeared before the boy, casting its warm heat onto his face with a relaxing feel. And out of the brightness came a figure that looked like something angelic to Ken.

The figure stepped out of the light and Ken instantly welled up with tears. A woman stood before him with shoulder-length hair that shone a beautiful light-brown colour that matched the colour of her eyes. She was an adult and wore white clothes that were fit for a mother, which was exactly what she was. Because she was Ken's mother.

"Mom!" Ken shouted for his mother, running towards her with arms spread wide. When she saw her son running to her, she knelt down slightly, extending her own arms to welcome him after many years. The overwhelming feeling of seeing his own mother again may have slowed him down, but Ken didn't stop and the only time he did was when he was finally in her arms, feeling her warm light against his cold skin in a tender embrace.

"Oh, Ken..." his mother whispered in his ear with the familiar voice he finally got to hear. Ken had forgotten almost everything he knew about the one precious person that brought him into the world and now that he had gotten to see her one last time, the memories started to flood back into his mind; the hair, the eyes, the voice, everything. "...look how grown up you are." she whispered again, forming the same tears of joy Ken had for her.

"It wasn't his fault mom...it wasn't his fault..." Ken sobbed, reminding his mother about Shinjiro's accident. Upon mentioning him, the mother gently pulled her son's head away to look at him. "I know, darling..." she said with a smile, stroking his hair with a soft hand, "...he was a troubled man. But you need not worry about him. He's in the light now, and just like me, he looks down on you each day."

And at that moment, Ken's sadness for his mother and for Shinjiro subsided and happiness was the only thing he could feel after long last. "That's right." said a low voice that came from Ken's side. And when the boy turned round to find the voice. A familiar face stood in front of him as the spirit he and his mother were.

"Shinjiro!" Ken shouted his name.

Shinjiro knelt down to Ken's height to look at him in the face, but didn't get a chance to since Ken already threw his arms around his passed away friend. It was a rare gesture that Shinjiro would make, but despite it he returned the hug, letting Ken weep his eyes out into his dark purple jacket.

"You've been through it all Ken," Shinjiro said in his ear with encouragement in his tone, "now you can conquer anything." He didn't say much, but it was all Ken needed to stop the tears from flowing and to build up the confidence he needed to progress.

"Yeah..." Ken mumbled as he pulled his head away from Shinjiro, rubbing the remaining tears from his eyes, "...I'll do my best...for both of you." He looked to his mother and then back to his friend, seeing the smiles that reflected on his efforts. Before Ken walked back to look at them both, Shinjiro raised his finger and placed it under his chin, pushing in upwards slightly to indicate a message; to keep his chin up.

A moment passed and the two spirits were ready to return to the unknown domain, keeping their eyes on Ken until the last of their bodies materialised back into the light. Ken wanted to cry once more as their bodies into the air, but he just couldn't; his resolution only made him happy, in the knowledge that two of the most precious people to him were safe where no form of suffering could touch them.

As they vanished into the sky, Ken turned his body to face his friends who were already approaching him. And when Ken was just in front of them, the exhaustion suddenly kicked in, unable to keep up his body weight and couldn't stay awake any longer. Akihiko quickly dived in the catch him, holding him like Yu did.

"Is he okay?" Yukari asked with the same concern everyone else had. But after a small examination, Ken was still breathing. "Yeah, he's just sleepy," Akihiko replied, "and I can say he's not the only one."

They then turned their attention to Rise who also fell during the battle. "She's fine," Fuuka reassured everyone, especially Yu, "she fell unconscious, but she's now just asleep as well."

"I think it's about time we got some sleep as well. It's been a long night." Yu suggested, picking Rise up in her arms into a comfortable position and leading everyone out of the shrines. But before he left with them, he looked towards the memorial statue and noticed that, like last time with Junpei and Koromaru, the recurring word 'Mom' was removed from the stone. He could only smile at Ken once more for something that would only be thought possible for teenagers and adults.

And with that, they left, walking with only a small level of difficulty down the large flight of concrete stairs, but when they realised that it was only a small walk back to the platform, they were relieved.

Halfway on their trek, Yu looked up to a shady area and only took a short while of remembering to find that it was the same pitch-black structure that he found previously in the TV world. And even though he knew he wasn't insane into thinking that it was there, he kept it to himself; they all couldn't see it last time, so he could only think that they wouldn't see it this time.

A soft pressure was then felt on one of his arms, and when turned to find out what it was, he found that it was just Rise shuffling into a more comfortable position. She did this for some time before being unable to find one, waking her up and opening her eyes to find Yu carrying her in what she found as a romantic gesture. "Hey..." she mumbled to him sweetly, rubbing her eyes in exhaustion.

He didn't want to remind himself of what happened to her during the operation, so he just smiled and brought her closer. "Don't scare me like that." he said, showing his affectionate concern for her.

Like Yu said, it was a long night and everyone, especially the S.E.E.S members were just impatient to get back up to the surface. They all had enough of the TV world for one night.

**And there you go! A super-big-gigantic-massive chapter for all of you! Man, that took forever to write! Over nine-thousand words this is! Anyway, keep reading and reviewing and I will see you next time! CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Mitsuru: 'For one's Persona to be reverted to a Shadow, the host must undergo a weakened state in the subconscious to lost control of the Persona.'_

_?: We would've thought you caught up with us already._

_Yu: Then please do!_

_?: Our pleasure to._


	22. Hour Twenty-Five

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Twenty-Two_

_Hour Twenty-Five_

**What's up, down, left and right guys?! Welcome to the twenty-second chapter of the story! Man, I never knew this story would span this long, and the best part...there are so many chapters left to write. In other words, you won't see the end of this fanfic for a looong time! And what's more, I'm getting my copy of Persona 4: Arena in a couple of days time! But that's enough of the intro message...LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0806 - After Midnight? - The Real World_

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><p>Returning to the surface was a harder task than they thought before, but knowing that their beds were only a small walk away from Mitsuru's room, they felt rewarded after looking back on the operation with the victory etched into their memory. They couldn't tell at first upon stepping back into their world, but after a while they noticed the heavy rain when a sudden burst of droplets hit the window. They were all too used to it.<p>

Everyone was eager to get some rest, but just as they all stepped through Mitsuru's door, she stopped them. "Just a minute..." she called for them, "...I understand that you all must be exhausted, but I want to speak with you all for a moment before turning in." They all felt like they didn't have any energy, but they all knew that it was probably necessary since Mitsuru's talks were never pointless. "If you all may, we'll head to the fourth floor in the control room."

As soon as the control room was mentioned, the expressions from the Investigation Team quite varied, ranging from surprised faces to looks of awe. The S.E.E.S members, on the other hand, were very puzzled. "A control room?" Junpei asked, struggling to stay awake, "...But wasn't the control room at the last dorm we stayed in?"

"Oh yeah, we didn't tell you guys," Akihiko said, almost in realisation, "the Kirijo Group installed a new computer here in case anything like this happened. Fortunately, the huge amount of money that was funded to install it in the first place wasn't wasted after all." Mitsuru chuckled at Akihiko's remark, giving him a raised eyebrow.

Everyone saw no reason to not join in with what looked like another group meeting and followed Mitsuru up the extra flight of stairs towards the control room. In the time it took everyone to walk up to the second-largest room in the whole of Tatsumi Hall, Akihiko brought the sleeping Ken back to his designated dorm room and laid him down onto his bed.

"Senpai?" Rise asked for Yu, catching his attention, "I'm just curious...but Ken's Shadow...why didn't you get brainwashed?" After being asked the question, Yu gave a look that suggested that he asked himself the same question; a question that he just couldn't put his finger on.

"I don't know..." Yu asked, only having speculative thoughts to back up what he was thinking, "...although, no one really knows my birthday...that's pretty much the only proof." There wasn't much to piece the puzzle with, so Yu just left it at that, but his attention was then drawn to Aigis, who also didn't experience what everyone else did during the operation. "Aigis," he called for the blonde-haired humanoid, turning her head to him, "you weren't controlled by Ken either. Don't you have a birthday?"

"Yes, I do," Aigis replied, "but I wasn't born in the way humans would. I was manufactured as an anti-shadow weapon in...if I remember correctly...September the 10th 1999. So really, I'm the youngest member in the group with the exception of Koromaru." It was more than what Yu wanted as an answer and Aigis was still within her human-developed mind, but it was something he learned about Aigis. "But I'm just as curious as Rise-san is. You weren't controlled like I was. When is your birthday?"

"March the 20th as far as I know..." Yu answered, which greatly baffled some people around him. Some raised eyebrows, and some were just trying to figure out what he was saying. "Huh? As far as you know?" Kanji asked from behind him, "You mean you don't really know when your own birthday is?"

"No, I do," Yu replied, only having to bring every bit of information he had stored away in his mind to answer the question, "it's just that my birthday isn't...definite." Just saying this made everyone become more puzzled and looked to Yu to shed some light, which he did with a long story. "You see, I was born very close to midnight on March the 20th and the doctors and nurses just couldn't figure out what my actual birthday was, because the difference in time between my birth and midnight was by at least a minute. And every clock in the hospital was manually set, so every clock had a different time. In the end, my birth certificate said that I was born on March the 20th as a close guess and my Zodiac sign would've been the Pisces. But as I said, no one really knew my birthday."

And with that, everyone who listened to his story had quelled their curiosity. "Oh dear...it must be awful not to know your true birthday." Yukiko said with sympathy, but was then reassured when she saw his genuine smile. Yu chuckled it off. "The bottom line is that I do have a birthday. At least I know that much." he said confidently, ending the conversation there.

Eventually they reached the doors, and upon entering the room, the giant screen and control panel was the first thing everyone saw. The S.E.E.S members found that the questionably large-sized computer was very much the same as the last one they used at the last dorm. But the Investigation Team were just gobsmacked at how such a few people managed to get a hold of such a massive screen. "Dude...this computer must've cost a fortune...then again, Junes' TVs must be around the same price range!" Yosuke spoke in his thoughts, stunned when he compared the computer he was beholding to the one he conceived in his mind.

"Please, take a seat." Mitsuru invited everyone to the couches. As everyone sat down on the sofas in the same position as they would sit in the lounge, they waited for Mitsuru to begin the discussion. And after a short while of waiting, she sat down in a free seat with a large notebook in her hands. The book was slightly dusty and there were some scratches on the cover.

"I would like to share with our guests some information that might give us insight into the culprits' motives," Mitsuru began, "and I believe that the answers we need are inside this book." Everyone looked closely at the notebook and saw by its condition that it hadn't been used in a long time. The dust that built up over time made it hard to see the cover.

"What does this book contain? Did this belong to anyone?" Naoto asked, setting her mind to her detective ego. Mitsuru held out a hand to open the book to the correct page and brought it closer to her to find the correct information. "Yukari found this book a little while before you all arrived here. This book contains research notes that were made by Eiichiro Takeba, Yukari's father, and Shuji Ikutsuki, our ex-chairman, in the early years when they were working together on the Shadows." Mitsuru explained, running her index finger along the page to find the right words.

"I'm trying to find it now," she said, "but what I'm about to read you is on the matter of the Personas and Shadows. If you remember our Shadows in the Midnight Channel, they were born from us even though we already had a Persona in the first place. And what I found in this book might be in relation to the matter." No one had thought about it until now, but they were all glad to be a part of this discussion, especially Yu, since there were possibilities of answers.

"Here it is," Mitsuru said when her finger stopped down the middle of the page, "it says: 'Shadows are the manifestation of suppressed thoughts and feelings that are born in the human subconscious and are the result of human desire and malice. Today, they are the living proof of Death and are the spawn of the imminent coming of the Fall.'"

The S.E.E.S members knew that this wasn't Eiichiro's writing, judging from the kind of words were written down. They were all Ikutsuki's words. Mitsuru continued, "'Personas, are very similar in comparison, except they are tamed and within the host's control when one comes to terms with it as a Shadow. This, however, is just one transmogrification. The other is vice versa.'"

Everyone was surprised at first when they heard this, but at the same time, they couldn't help but be baffled by the research being read. There was more. "'For one's Persona to be reverted to a Shadow, the host must undergo a weakened state in the subconscious to lose control of the Persona. Once this has happened, the Persona cannot be tamed and must revert to Shadow form.' And it ends there..."

This was new to everyone and it took them some time for the information to sink in, but Yu was satisfied with what Mitsuru shared as he pieced the puzzle just in time as Naoto did. They both looked to each other and nodded. "I see..." Naoto spoke in the silence, "...so the culprits are using the Midnight Channel to put everyone into a weakened state using what they desire to revert their own Personas into Shadows. So there must be a motive if it was this organised..."

"Come to think of it," Fuuka joined in the conversation when a thought came to her, "our Personas have grown exceptionally strong over the years, so it would only make sense for them to revert our Personas. They would make dangerously strong Shadows."

"You don't have to tell me twice about that. Every operation we've succeeded in were possibly the hardest battles I've ever come across," Akihiko said, feeling the aches in his arms when he remembered his recent fights, "and it's even more off-putting knowing that you're fighting your own friends as Shadows."

Yu found it hard to keep it all straight in his head, but as he blocked out everyone's conversations, he put himself into a deep thinking. "They want to revert our Personas for strong Shadows..." he muttered to himself, raising his voice afterwards to ask another question, "...but for what reason?"

Suddenly, a loud high-pitched screeching was heard from the large computer, followed by a frequency-confused sound of white noise filling the room. _"You seriously haven't found it out yet?!" _shouted a mocking voice from the screen, instantly turning everyone's head towards the computer.

Immediately, the first thing everyone saw was two figures standing with hoods over their heads and shrouded faces. Their image on the screen was very fuzzy and unclear due to what looked like the Midnight Channel's low quality frequency. Yu knew the two people straight away and was surprised to find both of them together for the first time, but had no clue as to why the Midnight Channel was broadcasting again on the same night. Despite it though, he quickly stood up and rushed to the computer. "It's them! The culprits!" he shouted for everyone, watching them react the same way he did and joining him around the screen.

"_We would've thought you caught up with us already. But yet again, it looks like we have to spell it out for you." _mocked the dark hooded boy, showing a rude gesture to make his audience seem less significant than him. Yu wasn't in the mood for the two at all, remembering their act of putting Ken into the TV that same night. "Then please do!" he shouted out of anger, "I'm tired of seeing you just to have vague conversations with you. Just give us answers!"

"_Our pleasure to." _the trench-coated boy said with his familiar cynical tone. He cleared his throat in a cruel act of wasting time for the group, but after a short silent while of doing this, the boy decided to speak. _"Basically, it goes like this: You watch the Midnight Channel. You go in. The desires that brought you in transmogrify your Personas into Shadows. Then your friends try to save you, and we're at the sidelines hoping that even one of you would get killed in the process."_

"_In short," _the dark hooded boy spoke up, _"we're trying to get rid of you." _It was blunt and it was something that Yu had been told before, yet the intentions of the two culprits were finally proved. But the thing that annoyed Yu greatly was that the reasons behind them were unclear.

"So you just let our own Shadows try to kill us?!" Yukari shouted with a tone of hatred, "You both are just cowards! If you wanted to get rid of us, why not do it yourselves?!" Hearing this only made the two boys laugh with an evil resonance, as if trying to push Yukari's buttons to the brink of anger.

_"We don't like to get our hands dirty..."_ said the dark hood, _"...but that's beside the point. And in case you wanted to know, we aren't doing just to kill you all...eventually."_ As soon as the boy said this, everyone's attention was drawn in, opening their ears with the upmost of eagerness. The boy continued, _"Let's just say it's all part of the grand plan. And it would go much smoother if all of you were out of the picture. We know what you're all capable of when you're in the right mind. That's why we used the Midnight Channel to put you into the wrong mind; so you would just end up like maniacs fighting each other to the death!"_

Bits and pieces were finally clear to the group, but among others, Yu wasn't satisfied with it. It didn't seem enough for him; there had to be a reason for this all to happen. "The grand plan?" Yu asked, "That may be your reason to wipe us...but why? What are you trying to prevent us from?"

"_Well, it doesn't matter really. You'll all be dead by the time we move onto it." _the trench-coat said wittingly, only as an excuse to not say anything. This wit and the act of keeping quiet was all too familiar to Yu and he found no point in trying to get the answers out of them; not at this stage in time. "We'll see about that!" Chie shouted defensively, not only for her but for the rest of the group.

"_Hmph," _the dark hood breathed with a shrug of ignorance, _"we'll bug you all some other time. We won't ruin your night any longer. It's still young after all." _And with that said, the Midnight Channel buzzed out of view with a flash of static, bringing the silence back into the computer room. Because of the long exposure to white noise, everyone's ears were ringing with the same high-pitched sounds the Midnight Channel had.

"So they're the culprits," Yosuke said, "looks like we have our guys. But what did he mean by 'grand plan'? Call me stupid, but with the way they planned things, they might be planning something big." Some just rolled eyes to Yosuke's deductions, but everyone just as he and Yu were.

Then, something sprung to Teddie's mind, instantly showing a look of realisation on his face. "Erm...guys?" the bear-personified boy asked for everyone with a tone of suspicion and uncertainty, "Why did the Midnight Channel broadcast again?" And as soon as he mentioned it, everyone's expressions turned into looks of puzzlement. No one had taken notice of it until now, but the Midnight Channel aired on the same night.

"But, it's not even...huh?" Rise said, interrupted when she pressed a button to unlock her phone. But instead of unlocking it, nothing happened. The screen just stayed blank and didn't even power itself up. "That's funny...I thought I charged my phone up this morning..." she said again, pressing the same button over and over in case it was just a glitch on her phone. But after a few more attempts, the phone didn't react at all.

"That's weird, my phone's dead too..." Kanji moaned, doing exactly the same thing Rise was doing and mashing the same button constantly with his bulky thumb to get the phone working. This made everyone else, who had a phone, pull them out of their pockets only to find that their phones were inactive as well. Even Yu's phone was out of action and the only thing he could do to check the time was his watch.

But when he gave a flick of his wrist to look at the hands on the clock-face, his eyes widened to the time that was being shown. "It's...it's midnight..." Yu said at first, but when he found one possibility of this happening, he started to shake his wrist vigorously in case the watch was experiencing the same thing the phones were going through. "No, that can't be right...what's happening?" he muttered to himself.

After a while of trying to get their electric and battery-powered devices working again using anything they could to bring their power back up, Aigis knew something was wrong. When the familiar idea sprung to her mind, she quickly rushed over to a nearby window and looked out through the glass in the hope that what she was about to see wasn't what she was thinking. But unfortunately, the landscape she saw was, in every detail, the spitting image that was pictured in her android head.

She turned round to everyone, gesturing with her hand to come and see what she dreaded to see. "Everyone..." she said as she did this, and when everyone left their devices to walk towards the window, she turned back round to the land behind the glass and pointed a finger towards one area in particular.

Immediately, the first thing everyone saw was the colour green in different shades. There were shades of green in the skies, and on the roads that shone the puddles and rain water the same colour. The buildings were pitch-black in the shadows and each skyscraper towered over what looked like standing coffins that emitted a bright blood-red colour that matched that of the pools and spills of blood that were rippling in the cracks and potholes of the roads and sidewalks. But there were two more things that stood out from everything they had seen yet.

They were just shocked to find all of this outside the dorm, but as soon as they saw the waning gibbous moon, fear struck everyone's hearts when they saw how large in size the moon glowed from its original position in the sky. Even more shades of green were radiating from the moon's surface with an eerie sense that made everyone feel ominous to the situation. But they couldn't see the full image of the moon, because of a tower that stood in the way of its unsettling light. And judging by the position of where the tower was standing, they knew that it was standing on the other side of Port Island.

The tower seemed like the biggest landmark in the whole of Iwatodai, but the problem one none of the Investigation Team saw this upon entering the region. It glowed intense colours of green brighter than anything else they've spotted so far, and the tower seemed to have been built upon random structures that wouldn't normally keep a tower up at the height it was standing.

The Investigation Team had no clue of what was going on with the drastic change in scenery, but S.E.E.S saw this landscape too well to even take a few seconds to remember it. The hands on the clock being stuck on midnight, coffins standing outside in a sickly green environment and the sight of a large moon and tower; these were everything S.E.E.S didn't want to witness again. Looking at the tower just made the name of it call back into their minds with a reluctancy to keep it in their memory, but could not remove it from the back of their heads even if they tried.

"No..." Mitsuru mumbled clearly for the others to hear, and just hearing that one word made the Investigation Team worry more than her other cohorts. "Mitsuru?" Yu asked for her, "What happened here? What's going on?"

Mitsuru saw their worried looks growing more and more anxious with every silent second passing without an answer from her. And even though she was reluctant to say, she had to say it. "Everyone..." she said with apologetic eyes, "...this is the Dark Hour."

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><p><em>0806 - Dark Hour_

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><p>The familiar name was suddenly recalled in their heads, reacting to it with shocked expressions, recoiled bodies and deep gasps. What they were told about the Dark Hour before seemed tame, but seeing it for themselves for the first time opened their eyes to what their new teammates witnessed before the Midnight Channel's existence. When they all looked out the window again, it was like watching a horror film that came into contact with the real world.<p>

Naoto took another look at the tower, remembering the story she was told before to bring the name of it back into memory."That tower..." she said in the midst of remembering the name, "...I take it that's Tartarus." It was spine-chilling to hear that familiar name once more for the members of S.E.E.S.

"But why?" Yukari asked, hoping that someone would have an answer, "Why has the Dark Hour come back? I mean...Minato gave his life to end it...he died to stop this from happening!" Yukari though wasn't the only one who was feeling like this. Everyone else from S.E.E.S felt the same way. It wasn't fair at all.

It wasn't obvious at first, but when Yu sent himself into deep thinking, he couldn't find it as a coincidence when he put the culprits' appearances on the Midnight Channel with the presence of the Dark Hour. "It couldn't have just been chance...they have to be connected somehow..." he thought to himself, annoyed when he couldn't find the proper connection.

Everyone else tried to find reasons behind the return of the Dark Hour and Tartarus, but just like their leader, they struggled greatly to find those reasons. And in the end, they all gave up. "This might have been a shock for us all tonight, but it's way too early to start thinking about it," Akihiko told everyone in an attempt to put their thinking to ease, "we'll discuss it tomorrow. But for now let's just sleep on it."

In the beginning, it was hard for everyone to shake the magnitude of it all from their minds despite being mentally exhausted from staying up late as it were. But as they all walked to their respective dorm rooms, they gradually calmed their minds down only to the point when the only thought they had was the need for sleep.

Eventually, when they just hit their beds with the dead-weight of their bodies, they all fell asleep. That is, only most fell asleep. Yu was the only one awake in his bed, unable to replace the questions that were spinning and spiralling in his head with the essential sleep he needs.

He may have had an extra hour to make an effort to get to sleep, but there were so many things to empty out of his mind that made it seem a hard task to do.

**And there we are! More mysteries to unveil (Ooooh!) But like I always say, you're going to have to wait until I can reveal it to you all! Anyway, keep reading and reviewing, and I will see you guys when the twenty-third chapter is out! CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Traumerei - Persona 4 OST

_Yosuke: Saki-Senpai..._

_Mitsuru: Father..._

_Ken: Mom... Shinjiro..._

_Akihiko: Shinji, Miki..._

_Naoto: Mother... Father..._

_Yukari: Daddy..._

_Yu: Mrs. Dojima... Chisato... my aunt..._

_Everyone: ... Minato..._


	23. Farewell And Goodbye

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Twenty-Three_

_Farewell And Goodbye_

**Hello guys. And welcome to chapter twenty-three of the story. You may notice I'm not using any exclamation marks, and there's an odd reason for that. You guessed it. This chapter is on the memorial day which had been said during the story and I feel that I should be respectful. Don't ask why, I'm just like that. So without further ado...Let's Gt-R-Done.**

* * *

><p><em>0806 - Midday_

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><p>Nothing else was on everyone's minds; not the operation the night before, nor the questions that they faced since the time they all grouped together. The heavy rain washed all of it away and the silence around the Naganaki Shrine was peaceful enough to put those thoughts to rest. And they stood still as they fixed their eyes on the many names that were etched into the newly-constructed memorial statue.<p>

As always, the sun hid its face behind the clouds and the only sound they could hear was the pattering of the rain against the overhead roofs of the gazebos along with the weeps and sobs of the people of Iwatodai who have gathered round the statue with them. The atmosphere was dark and melancholic, and not one person who attended didn't notice it.

During the time everyone gazed upon the numerous names in the stone of the statue, the monks of Naganaki Shrine were gathered closely around the statue, sitting in a cross-legged position on small parchments with palms together in prayer. Among the monks was Koromaru who sat on his own piece of carpet to pay his respects to his late master. Koromaru was sat in the usual dog's sitting position whilst bowing his head down to the floor. No one knew if he was bowing his head in prayer or lowering his head in sadness and loss. "Koromaru..." Yukiko whispered to herself with sympathy, "...oh, poor thing..."

When the prayer came to an end, the monks stood up slowly and walked with respectful gestures back to the sheltered canopy that they had been allocated. Koromaru, however, walked back to the rest of the group and sat down beside Fuuka's feet. Feeling the fur against her legs and hearing his soft whimpering, Fuuka bent down to hold Koromaru and stood back up when she held him in her arms. She stroked his coat to comfort him as he sank his small head into Fuuka's shoulder.

Then, one by one, people started to step out of the gazebos' overhead roofs towards the statue with the cards to their passed loved ones held securely in their hands. The ring of people around the stone stuck their cards and photos into the soil that surrounded the base of the statue in a clockwise fashion. The Investigation Team and S.E.E.S were the last to give their messages to the statue.

But before they could do so, they all looked around at the many people who lost friends, family and loved ones alike and knew the absolute cruelty of death and its effects on people. There were so many people standing with them, and the laments and elegies covered much of the soil in only a short matter of time.

Yukari looked around at these people and found the many friends that once looked up to Minato, watching them as they stood their cards and messages up against the statue and in the soil. She looked closely at what they all wrote, and each of them had the name 'Minato' written on them. Just seeing this made her remind her of how much Minato meant to others apart from her; she knew she wasn't the only one who was greatly hurt by his death.

Among these people were everyone she knew, especially her Gekkoukan High School junior teacher Ms. Toriumi who was watching over the past students of the school. These students were Kenji Tomochika, Chihiro Fushimi, Hidetoshi Odagiri, Kazushi Miyamoto, Keisuke Hiraga, Yuko Nishiwaki and Nozomi Suemitsu, and there was also the student athlete from another school who also came to pay his respects to Minato, Mamoru Hayase.

Yu looked towards Kenji who was the only person he knew out of the whole ring of friends Yukari noticed and saw his expression of sadness as he looked down onto the card he placed into the ground. He stood in front of the statue with the other students behind him and closed his eyes with them in an act of paying respect, and whilst he did this, he held his hands in front of him, trying to stop the shaking in his fingers. They then returned to the gazebos, standing in the way they did in front of the statue.

As he cast his eyes across, Yu found some of his other friends from Inaba and the Yasogami High School. At first he was surprised, but when he thought about it he understood the reasons for them being here. In the masses of the crowd he found Naoki Konishi, Hisado Kuroda, Sayoko Uehara and Yumi Ozawa, instantly remembering the people in their lives who had died. Each of them took turns to give their messages to the statue. Some of them gave tears, and some of them tried to hold them back.

Eventually, it was their turn to leave their messages, and Yosuke was the first to take the step forward with Chie ready to walk with him. But when he saw her doing this, he shook his head to her with a look of apology, reminding her as well as himself of why he didn't want her with him. And as he turned back round to approach the memorial statue, Chie could watch him with the same look of apology in her eyes.

He planted his lament into the soil and took a few steps back to get a good look of the statue. And as he took the time to reflect on his past with Saki Konishi, he found memories buried in his mind both happy and sad. But each memory seemed to give him a sense of resolution, comparing his past with the present.

"Saki-Senpai..." he spoke softly to himself, "...we both knew there wasn't going to be anything between us other than a mutual friendship...but that's beside the point. To this day, I've been sulking whenever I could only you...but now, I've realised something I didn't before. Ever since you passed away a year ago I've only focused on the bad side of it...and today, I feel like I can appreciate what I have now..." Yosuke then turned his head to his friends both old and new, but especially towards Chie, feeling the same emotions he felt for her that he was unsure of in the beginning. "And you know what?" he asked himself, "Starting now wouldn't hurt."

He looked back to the statue to give a forced smile before walking back to the group with his new-found knowledge fixed in his head without any intention to shake it off, even if he still felt some feeling of sadness for his loss.

A short silent moment passed, and Junpei hesitated to approach the statue. But when he did, he walked slowly towards the stone with his card opened up so that he could read it along the way. He gave his card to the statue and upon doing so, he looked towards the spot where he collapsed to the ground in front of Chidori's spirit, remembering the scenery of the TV world when he kept his eyes on it. "You were one in a million Chidori," he mumbled while ignoring the people around him that might have heard him, "and you even gave me a second chance at life. No one else would have done that for me...so I won't give up on it." He then looked to the skies with some feeling of content returning to him. "Shinjiro-senpai. Take care of her."

With a nod of the head as a sign of respect to Shinjiro, Junpei made his way back to the group, feeling a wobbling in his legs and a fizzing sensation that nearly made him collapse on himself. But keeping his balance, he stood with the group, intending to fix his eyes on the sky for the duration of the memorial.

Another while of inactivity passed and no one was willing to take a step forward from the emotions that were beginning to grow within them. But soon after, Fuuka stepped out from the group and made her way towards the memorial stone, placing her card down on the side of the statue. As she took a step back, she kept her eyes on her card to Shinjiro and remembered the words she wanted to say to him. "Senpai..." she said, managing to hold her tears back, "...you were never an outsider like everyone saw you as. You were a true friend to all of us...you never wanted to hurt anyone or let anyone down. And if our new friends could see you now, they could've seen a good friend within you too." She then remembered her words for Minato. "Minato...we wish you were still here...you were a friend, a leader and someone to look up to...and you took the biggest sacrifice for the world even though you knew it wouldn't give you recognition. And to this day, we all still miss you so much..."

Respectfully, she bowed her head to the statue before walking back to the gazebos with the rest of the group in the hope that no one would see her tears, looking to the others for who was going to go next. Not a moment passed and Mitsuru walked passed Fuuka with her message gripped tenderly in her hand. And when she stood at the soil, she gently planted her elegy into it, walking back to look at the names of the statues. When she looked closely, she saw her father's name was engraved in the stone which welled up tears into the corners of her eyes as she fixed her sight upon it.

"Father..." she muttered with the lump in her throat, "...you died by the hands of a person we trusted...and even though I see that as something so detestable and unforgivable...you would tell me what you taught me before. To not look back in anger and to look to what's ahead without falter...so as of today, I have no feeling of hatred nor anger towards the one that took your life. I shall set an example to the Kirijo Group in your name...and I shall continue your legacy until my time comes..."

Throughout her speech dedicated to her father, her voice was raised with every word and unlike her teammates before her, she didn't whisper or keep her voice down. She shared it with everyone that watched her and after delivering her feelings to public view, she felt relieved of her sadness and rewarded when she saw everyone's expressions of respect.

"And Minato..." she mumbled, raising her head to the rain, "...you not only changed the world we live in now...but you also showed us the true potential and spirit of any human being. And every time I look at the best aspects of this world, it reminds me of the miracle you selflessly performed as well as the miracles we see and cannot see that occur everyday...and for that, on behalf of everyone...thank you. We all miss you very dearly."

She stood in front of the statue for another short moment before returning to the gazebos with a look of composure that helped her keep the tears from forming. Akihiko and Ken walked passed her, approaching together towards the soil and rested their messages against the stone. They took a few steps back and Akihiko bent down to Ken's height so he could comfort him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Mom...Shinjiro..." Ken began, trying his best to keep his hands from shaking, "...you were both two of the most cherished things in my life...and you were both taken away when you didn't deserve to be..." But in only a short matter of seconds, the tears started flowing from Ken's eyes, and the only way he could hide them was in Akihiko's shoulder.

Akihiko hugged the small boy in his arms, and just watching Ken weeping made him feel the same way, but as the adult he was, he tried his best to refrain from showing any tears. "You brought this little boy into this world..." Akihiko said as he smiled to the skies, calling unto Ken's mother, "...and I can just tell how much you were a great mother to him just by the tears he's crying for you...I wish I had a mother like that sometimes; I never knew mine..." He tried to keep his personal information to himself whilst preaching to the heavens, and when he remembered his memories of him, Miki and Shinjiro at the orphanage, and idea came to mind.

"Shinji, Miki...Minato" he called quietly as he rested his open hand on the cards he and Ken made for them, "...I know you're parents are there with you...take care of them as they would've taken care of you..." As he withdrew his hand back to his side, he started to think of his own parents. "If only they could see me now..." he muttered to himself, but clear enough for Ken to hear.

"Sanada-san..." Ken said as he lifted his head from Akihiko's shoulder, "...I'm sure they would be so proud of you..." When Ken said this, Akihiko couldn't hold it in anymore; the tears had to show, not of sadness, but of joy and achievement. Ken hugged his senpai and Akihiko hugged him back in an embrace that seemed unlikely for the two to do in front of the public. They then returned to the shelter, watching as Naoto made her way past them.

As she rested her card against the statue's base, she stayed kneeling down on one knee, lowering her head down to the ground in prayer. "Mother...Father..." she whispered privately, "...the car accident was the very thing that resulted in both of your deaths...and even now, I can't understand why it had to happen..." And as she progressed through her speech, her voice was becoming more and more choked up by the moment. When the tears started to form, she pulled the front of her cap downwards, hiding her eyes away from public view.

"You inspired me to look for the truth in everything...and if you both were still alive today...you could see how much I've grown and learnt from the truth I found with the amazing people I've been working with..." she lamented, "...I wish you both were here...I could've learnt so much more...I could've been with you more...but even when it's not to be, I still haven't lost everything. I have your legacy to continue...and I have the support of my friends to help me carry it on."

When Naoto lifted her head again, she managed to hold back the tears, standing up slowly to prove it to the people watching around her. And as she returned to her cohorts she looked to Yukari and Aigis who were the next couple to step forward.

But only just after leaving the gazebos, Yukari stopped in her tracks not noticing that Aigis was walking ahead of her. When Aigis noticed it however, she looked behind herself before approaching her to see what was wrong. "Yukari-san?" she asked of her, lifting her head up with a finger to see her face. And the first thing she saw was her tears, watching them fall from her red-ridden eyes to her chin in a continuous flow.

"I can't, Aigis..." she muttered in an attempt to speak over her shaken tone, "I just can't...I've said goodbye so many times before...and to say goodbye again just hurts as much as all the other times..." In an act of comfort, Aigis placed a gentle hand on Yukari's cheek, wiping the tears from one side of her face with her thumb.

As a moment of weeping passed, Yu and Mitsuru came to Yukari's side, placing a hand on each shoulder to reassure her. And when she lifted her head to see them, she remembered the help they gave her with her messages."Yukari, are you alright?" Mitsuru asked softly, using an arm to bring her into a side-hug. Yukari couldn't talk over the lump that choked her throat and could only respond with a dispirited nod of the head.

"Come on, we'll go together." Yu said, giving a slight squeeze of Yukari's shoulder to indicate his will to help her, and when she took the sign she slowly found the strength to approach the statue. But the weakness that wrenched deep in her heart didn't help to hold back the tears from soaking her cheeks.

Dripping one by one, the tears fell onto the ink that made up the words that she wanted to say to both her father and Minato, and when she stood at the statue, she planted the card between the stone and the soil. And when she slowly knelt down to say final words, Yu, Mitsuru and Aigis knelt down with her to keep her company.

"Daddy..." Yukari muttered, instantly bringing a memory to her head of the times she used to call her father by that reference, "...the scientists you worked with became obsessed with an idea you found detestable. But you were the one who didn't want it to happen...you were the one who stopped it, even though you knew you would die in doing so. Every time I think about it, I'm not only just crying for you...but it also makes me proud to know that the one who brought me into this world had the biggest heart a person could have. In my eyes...your a hero to me...and I miss you so much..."

Then, as Yukari opened her mouth again to give her own message to Minato, her tone began to shake and the tears were made almost impossible for her to quell. She cupped her eyes into her hands and used every bit of effort to stop the uncontrollable gasps of breath that choked her. And when she started to calm down, she was ready to speak.

"Minato...Minato-kun..." she began, taking a short moment before continuing to compose herself, "...It's been two years, and I'm still finding it hard to stop crying...but you understand though...right?" She removed her hands from her eyes to reveal the bright red colours around her eyes and face, placing her palms on her chest and feeling the beating in her heart that felt like it was breaking. "You were everything to me...and because of it, I can't be that person I promised to be...I feel like I've let you down..."

Her hands then returned to her eyes, letting a few sobs escape from her throat that made her feel like she was being strange by the same constant feeling. Yu, Mitsuru and Aigis immediately wanted to contradict against what Yukari was thinking of herself, but at the same time they didn't want to interfere. "I'm...sorry..." she croaked, "...you wouldn't want me to feel like this. I've been told that so many times before. But I can't help it...I still miss you...I still love you...!"

Yukari shouted those last four words with what little strength she had left in her windpipe, unable to preach her words loud enough to tell the rest of the people. If anyone heard what she said, it was the front row, especially where the past Gekkoukan students were standing. At this point, her sobs and weeps were uncontrollable to hold back, and all she could do to hide it away was to bury her head into Mitsuru's shoulder. Mitsuru and Aigis picked their heartbroken friend up from the ground and walking her back to the gazebos, and when they noticed Yu wasn't with them halfway down, they looked behind themselves.

Yu was still standing at the statue with his own card resting against the statue's stone, looking up to the heavens and squinting as the rainwater landed on his face. The card he gave to the memorial was full of writing and not a single space of white was wasted; the ink covered it all. "Mrs. Dojima...Chisato...my aunt..." Yu said, formally referencing Nanako's mother and his aunt with the title, "...I've never actually met you, but what I've heard from Nanako, you were a great mother to her, and a wonderful wife to my uncle. And if I could see you now, I would say that you would've been a great aunt to me. On behalf of my cousin, uncle and myself, we miss you so very much...and I hope that someday you will be brought to justice."

Before he walked back to the group, he had one more thing left to say. "Minato..." he mumbled, trying not to let the public around him hear, "...I have heard much about you, and it would've been an absolute pleasure to meet you. But that aside, I won't let you down. There are some people here today that still miss you deeply and I will continue to work with them until we find you and bring you back into their care. That is a promise."

As he took a short moment to stand at the statue in respect, he turned his head to the people around him, scanning their expressions to see the same looks of sadness and devastation. And when he looked back at the group, the expressions he saw were exactly the same as the public's. Just seeing this panoramic view of negativity made an unwanted thought come to Yu's mind. _"It's so saddening that one person's death can effect so many people...especially when time sometimes doesn't matter..."_

When he turned his head to Yosuke, who has grieved over Saki Konishi's death more than once in the past, the thought magnified in his mind with an uncomfortable growth. "I guess...we can never truly stop the grief we have for our losses...we just leave ourselves with memories good and bad...but the choices we make in looking back at either of those memories determines our progress in moving on, it seems..." he thought to himself, noticing an unusual aspect in his thinking when it stuck to his mind.

Trying to shrug it off, he walked back to the others, watching as the last few people laid their messages at the base of the statue. For the time they had left, they all bowed their heads in prayer, closing their eyes as a sign of respect. And after bringing the same thought back to Yu's mind, he felt that he had to do something to shake the feeling from him. He needed a proper answer to what he was thinking.

Eventually, the public ceremony was over and everyone made their own decisions to either stay at the shrine or go home. And during this time, the group huddled together to make their own choices. Some went home and some stayed, especially Yukari who stayed to talk to her past classmates who comforted her and tried to quell the tears that stained her face.

Yu stayed behind with a few others of his Investigation Team members to meet the Gekkoukan students that were introduced by Kenji. Being the first friend Yu made outside the dorm in Iwatodai, Kenji thanked him again for the kind words he said when they first met and for writing his own message to Minato, despite not having met him before. The conversations he had with the group of friends were sombre and calm, and there was no room for happiness when the mood wasn't right.

The conversations he had with his other friends at Yasogami High School were just the same even though he introduced some of the S.E.E.S members to them. They only talked for a short while before parting ways again.

As they all decided to return to the dorm, Yukari made one final gesture before leaving. She approached the statue once more and stood where her card was laid. She then knelt down to it looked at the words that she wrote for her father and Minato, etching them into her memory like the names that were carved in the statue's stone. And after glancing at her meaningful words, she kissed the inside of her palm and slowly rested it upon the cover of the card, wiping away the droplets that almost seeped into it. Returning to everyone else, Yukari walked back to the dorm with her friends, holding one another in sorrow under the umbrellas that shielded them away from the rain.

After walking down the large flight of stairs, Yu noticed something next to the banisters. The rain was somewhat cutting of his vision, but after squinting his eyes, he could make out the colour of what looked like a door. The door was of purple-navy colour and its frame shone an illuminant light of a brighter colour. It was like any other door, but Yu knew what it was just by the fact that it was standing in that spot without any walls connected to it. It was the Velvet Room door.

"Yu?" Yosuke asked for him, "Is everything okay?" And when Yu noticed him, he blinked his eyes repetitively in realisation to Yosuke's call. He then looked back to door. "You go on ahead...I just need some time to think." he said, getting a nod from his friend before watching as he walked away with the others back to the dorm.

Yu kept his eyes on his friends before they walked off into the mist of the rain, vanishing after their outlines and figures dissolved into the fog. And with the knowledge that he was safe to enter the Velvet Room, he turned to it. But instead of walking towards the door, he was immediately stopped by the Velvet Room attendant that stood in front of him. "Oh, Margaret." Yu muttered with surprise when he nearly walked into her.

"I hope I haven't come at an inappropriate time," Margaret said apologetically, fully aware that it was the day of the memorial, "but I sensed some trouble within you...is everything okay?" After being asked the same question for a second time, Yu had to admit that it wasn't, being reminded of the thought that was bothering him ever since he brought it up.

He sighed as he struggled to find the words in his head, but after a while he was prepared to speak. "Margaret, tell me..." he said with the sad mood of the Naganaki Shrine affecting him, "...the people who attended...some of their losses happened a long time ago, and ever since, I've seen them grow stronger after facing their suppression. But now...they all feel the same as before...why? Is it that we can't escape the need to mourn?"

The morbid questions Yu brought up also affected Margaret, who had a reluctant response that she felt would help answer his question. At first, she hesitated to reply, but gathered the will overtime to do it. "It's 'change', Yu..." she said slowly, "...it's a necessary component of life, and like you said, you can't escape it. Change happens even in the most minor of things, and even a person's resolution can change. If this applies to your friends, then this is the case. Change can either favour you or hinder you, but it is absolutely essential for progression. Do you understand?"

After listening to Margaret's explanation that, at first, seemed obvious to him, Yu somewhat didn't like what he heard. Not because it had an effect on him, but that it had an effect on those he cared for. And when he did some further speculation in his mind, he had another idea which didn't occur to him up until then. "Was that...? Was that partially the reason why my contract with you was re-established?" he asked with a great sense of logic in his thinking, "To help my other friends in the way I helped my closest ones?"

"It is most likely that it was, among other reasons." Margaret briefly answered, also not having thought of it before. She looked for his reaction, but couldn't tell by the way he was facing to his side, trying to hide his expressions away from her. At this point, Margaret thought that Yu had hit a wall in having such a responsibility weighing down on him. But as he turned his head round to her, his expression was different to what she thought.

"Then I still have a duty..." Yu said with confidence, "...I haven't come all this way to give up on the people I care about. And like I said before, I'm not going home until I find what was taken." Hearing this from Yu made Margaret remember how much of a caring and heroic person he was. And after listening to his words, she smiled sweetly to him, turning around and walking back to the Velvet door in the knowledge that Yu didn't need to be told anything.

But when she turned the doorknob, she looked back at him with the same smile. "Go," she said bluntly yet briefly, "you have a duty to fulfil." And with that, she stepped through the door, closing it behind her to return to the betwixt world of mind and matter.

Left alone, Yu was satisfied with the answers Margaret had given him, and his troubled introspection was finally cured. And before making his way back to the dorm, he looked once more to the skies, squinting to avoid the rainwater. "Remember Minato...it's a promise." he said to the clouds before walking back to his friends in need.

He knew that there was change in everything, even the memorial day that made one of those changes in the people he loved. And when he put his mind to it, his duty reminded him that the next change started with him.

**And that's the end of this chapter. Thank you so much again guys and I hope you've enjoyed the story so far. Keep reading and reviewing and I hope to get to work on the next chapter really soon. See you later.**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Teddie: Seriously, Sensei, what is the secret to this 'hot chocolate'?_

_Ken: I can taste some coffee in this. I love it!_

_Yu: My uncle's wondering if Nanako can stay here instead of the police station while he's on duty._

_Yukari: We can't just let her stay at the police station. It wouldn't be comfortable being in a new place and all._


	24. Just The Thing

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Twenty-Four_

_Just The Thing_

**Well, hello there guys! I can't believe I've written this much in one story so far, but welcome to the twenty-fourth chapter! Man, when will this story stop? I hope it's not too soon, I'm enjoying myself just writing these chapters! And I'm glad you are all loving the story so far. But that's enough with the chit-chatting...LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0806 - Evening_

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><p>The mood in the dorm lounge was heavy, and every single head was dropped to the floor with an uncomfortable bend of their necks. No one made a sound; everyone was sat in silence, staring at the floor without any intention to make any movement no matter how much ache they were feeling in their bodies. The only sounds they could hear were the TV and the nearly-unnoticeable rain.<p>

Yu was the only thing moving in the entirety of Tatsumi Hall, and he felt the occasional guilt when he glanced over to his friends without finding even a twitch of motion from them all. But he knew he had to cure them all of the depression they experienced during their time at the memorial, and he had an idea of how to do it. The answer was in the kitchen.

In front of him were sixteen mugs and a large container-jug with a beverage that he felt would be the very thing that would get everyone back into their spirits. With every pour, the steam glided from the edges of each mug, giving off a sweet scent that danced around the kitchen. And just as he was about to stir in the beverages, the news was heard from the TV.

"_Right. We'll now move on to our main story today..." _said the female news-reporter as she shuffled her papers in front of her, _"...the search for Minato Arisato's body continues in the need of more assistance from the Inaba Police required. It was later today that Detective Kurosawa of Iwatodai said that this case 'was unlike any successful theft attempted before.' We talked with Detective Dojima earlier today for the latest update."_

Yu quickly darted his head when he heard that familiar surname, moving around slightly to position himself where he could see the TV clearly. Suddenly, his uncle's face was shown, along with the many muffed microphones that were pointed towards his mouth. _"Detective Dojima," _another news-reporter said in a recording, _"this is a world's first when it comes down to this case. What are the precautions you are taking as of now?"_

"_Well, there's not a lot we can do at the moment purely because we don't have enough evidence to give any clarity whatsoever..." _Ryotaro said, scratching the back of his tired head, _"...as you said, this case is a world's first and at this moment in __time, we are unable to make any progress unless we have certain and concrete proof. I'm not saying we're giving up, that's not why we're the police. We will do everything we can to bring an end to this case and to bring justice to those who were effected by it."_

As Yu kept his eyes on the TV screen, he walked over to the group with a tray in each hand that carried heavy amounts of beverage. For a while it did strain his wrists, but he was in no rush and placed the trays down on the coffee table in the middle of the sofa area, taking one mug out for himself.

"Here you go," Yu said with a smile, "drinking chocolate with a twist." At the mention of the drink, everyone gave him a quick look of gratitude before returning to their previous expressions. And slowly, they each took a mug from the trays, resting it in front of them.

Junpei was the first to lift his mug up to his lips, smelling the sweet aroma with a warm fill of his nostrils. At first, his thoughts that it was just a standard hot chocolate, but after taking a small sip, his eyes widened with surprise to the flavour that was in the drink. He looked into the mug with disbelief as if he thought that the drink couldn't possibly taste as heavenly. He took another sip, and almost immediately, his expression gradually lifted. "Woah..." he muttered as he sank in the cushions of the sofa, "...oh man, this hot chocolate tastes so good!"

Everyone, even Yu was surprised at how drastically Junpei's feelings changed just by a swig of a drink. Just looking at him made him seem cosier than anyone in the room, and they all didn't want him to be the only one. They took their mugs and brought it up to their mouths, and each and every one them gave the same face Junpei had, feeling the warm sensation slip down to their stomachs. And because of this, the negative air in the room was cleared, and the frowns slowly turned into smiles.

"Seriously Sensei," Teddie said to Yu as he submerged further and further in his seat with a strong feeling of comfort, "what is the secret to this 'hot chocolate'?" Yu could only chuckle to Teddie's question and after taking a sip of his own drink, he seemed to have surprised himself. "Now if I told you, it wouldn't be a secret, would it?" he replied teasingly.

"Well, whatever the ingredients are, c'est magnifique." Mitsuru said as thanks to Yu with a french accent, which also made him want to do the same. He brought a hand up in a posh gesture and cleared his throat. "Merci, Mardemoiselle." he thanked back, getting an impressed look from Mitsuru.

"You know french, Yu?" Rise asked, somewhat hoping for a response in that language. Yu could just see it in her eyes and he had just the answer for her. It may have seemed basic in his head, but it was something he knew that she might like. "Oui, je sais français." he said with the same soft accent.

And after saying it, he watched as Rise's cheeks turned red. She held a gentle hand over her mouth to stop the giggles from coming out. "Stop it...you're making me blush." she said as she struggled to look at Yu while concentrating on quelling the bright red colours from her cheeks.

"I can taste some coffee in this," Ken said with a smile of gratitude, "I love it! Thank you so much, Yu!" Yu was happy to know that Ken got the grasp of coffee. It was one of the many reasons he made the beverage.

When they all turned their attention to the TV, Ryotaro was still being interviewed. _"You have only just arrived in Iwatodai Mr. Dojima, so are you going to be occupying here for the duration of the case?"_ the same news-reporter asked, instantly putting a face of uncertainty on Ryotaro's face. He was hesitant to answer at first, but after a short second of thought, he felt somewhat confident in his plan. _"It might be a pain for me and my daughter, but I think drastic times calls for drastic measures. So I think we're needed here for the time being."_

"Dojima is occupying in Iwatodai?" Naoto asked. Mitsuru leaned forward, being the only one who seemed to have more knowledge about the situation. "I received some news from Detective Kurosawa a short time ago that another detective was coming here," Mitsuru explained to keep everyone up to date, "his name is...Detective Dojima, correct? Do you all know him?"

"He's Yu's uncle," Yosuke replied, "he investigated the same case we cracked a few months ago." The Investigation Team nodded in clarification to S.E.E.S that they all knew him. The members of S.E.E.S were quite impressed with the fact that their leader was a nephew of a detective.

"He doesn't seem to be aware of the Midnight Channel or the Dark Hour like Kurosawa is..." Akihiko said, "...did any of you tell him about this stuff?" As soon as they heard, the members of the Investigation Team couldn't understand why they would do it in the first place. Yu knew that more than anyone else from the dreadful experience he had with Ryotaro.

"We wouldn't dare try..." Yu replied, casting his mind back to that horrible night when Nanako was kidnapped, "...last time I ever mentioned Personas to him, he wouldn't believe me. And because of it, I was nearly sent to prison." After saying this, expressions of alarm were seen on S.E.E.S faces, and they immediately knew that mentioning anything to Ryotaro, including Personas, wasn't an option even if there was some chance of him believing it. "Don't ask me how. It's a long story." Yu added as if he knew they were going to ask.

"Hey, I just realised..." Chie joined the conversation as she leaned her body forward, "...if he's staying in Iwatodai, then what about Nanako?" As soon as she asked this, the same question sprung to their minds.

"I'm sure Dojima didn't leave her by herself in Inaba. He would never do such a thing. He really does care about her after all," Yukiko reassured Chie, along with some others who had the awful thought going through their heads. "they might be staying at the police station in Paulownia Mall."

Shortly after, Yu felt a vibration on the side of his leg followed by the sound of a high-pitched telephone ringing. He reached into his pocket and pulled out his cell phone, checking the caller ID before answering. "Ha, speaking of which..." he muttered to himself as he flipped the phone open to take the call, "...hey uncle Ryotaro."

"_Hey Yu...sorry that I'm calling you at a late time." _his uncle said with a sigh of exhaustion. Before Yu could carry on the conversation, there was one word that his uncle said that stood out for him; time. He looked towards the nearby wall-clock and examined the positioning of the hands. It was less than an hour before midnight, and just looking at the hands made a churn in his stomach. But he tried not to think about it and returned to his phone. "I-It's alright, I'm still up anyway," Yu said after noticing the pause he left, "so did you want something?"

"_Did you see the news today?" _Ryotaro asked, not really needing an answer and just getting to the point, _"I've been called to stay in Iwatodai as of today. But the problem I have is that I can't let Nanako stay at the police station all day and night, and it's an even bigger problem knowing that I won't have time for her with the amount of work I've been given."_

Yu always recognised his uncle for the large masses of work he had to put up with to get the job done, but what he heard over the phone almost made him feel the same weight of work on his shoulders. The solution to his problem wasn't at all easy to find. _"Now...I've had an idea, but it might sound very inconvenient to you..." _Ryotaro said, leaving a pause in waiting for Yu to give a response. "I'll do what I can." Yu answered briefly; nothing more, nothing less.

"_Well...okay then," _the uncle said with uncertainty refraining him from saying, which after a while he did, _"would it be possible if Nanako could stay where you're staying?" _And when the question was heard, Yu eventually fully understand why he would think of it as an inconvenience. There were no words coming out of his mouth, just thoughts running through his head if it was a good idea or not. "Erm...hang on just a minute." Yu said before pulling the phone away from his ear and resting the mouthpiece on his shoulder to block any sound from reaching it.

"What's up, senpai?" Kanji asked when Yu faced the group.

"My uncle's wondering if Nanako can stay here instead of the police station while he's on duty." Yu replied bluntly, watching everyone meet his expectations with looks of surprise and unsureness. For the Investigation Team, it was some lovely news to hear, but for S.E.E.S, they weren't certain whether if it was a good idea or not.

"Nanako's your cousin, right Yu?" Yukari asked when she recalled him telling her, "Then we can't just let her stay at the police station. It wouldn't be comfortable for her, being in a new place and all. I don't see any reason why she shouldn't stay here." After hearing Yukari's verdict, the others followed her line of thinking. Mitsuru also couldn't find a reason against it. "I agree," she said confidently, "we'd be more than happy to let your cousin stay."

Getting other positive responses from S.E.E.S came to a definite decision. In the confidence that Yu could trust everyone with Nanako's safety with the large amount of weight made by the tasks at hand, he brought his phone back up to his ear. "We don't see why not," he said to the mouthpiece, "we're only a small group here, so Nanako should fit in fine."

"_You don't know how relieved I am to here that. Thank you, Yu..." _Ryotaro said with a relaxed sigh, _"...when would be a good time for Nanako to come round?" _And when being presented with another question, Yu looked to others to ask it again, only to be stopped by Akihiko. "Tomorrow's a good time," he answered, had he already heard the question loud and clear on the cell phone, "No one's doing much because of this rain."

It was the first good news Yu had heard that came from the weather since it ever started. And even happier to know that he would get to see Nanako again, he brought the phone back to his ear. "Is tomorrow good?" Yu asked.

"_Tomorrow's an excellent time!" _Ryotaro replied, happy as Yu and the others were, _"I'll bring Nanako round sometime in the afternoon, okay?"_

"Sure thing. We'll have the door open for her." Yu said before his uncle ended the call there. As he slipped his phone back into his pocket, he turned round to the others and gave them a nod of the head to confirm Nanako's stay. The Investigation Team lit up with excitement, grinning and smiling with their spirits finally lifted from the melancholy.

"I'm looking forward to your cousin's stay," Aigis said with the same smile she had as everyone else, "what is she like? How old is she?" When the questions were asked, Yu and the others didn't know where to start; Nanako was someone special to all of them.

"She's only seven years old, but when you're with her, she's lots of fun," Yukiko said in compliment, "she is the most sweetest and well-mannered young girl I've ever met." After this was said from Yukiko, the rest of the team began discussing the greatest parts about Nanako. They talked about everything; from the day they met her to the day before they all left for Iwatodai.

"Aww, she sounds so precious!" Fuuka expressed with a wide smile on behalf of everyone else who thought the same.

Then, at the same time, a ringtone was heard from her shirt pocket, and as she pulled the cell phone out, she looked at the front for the name of the caller. In bright neon colours, the letters that made up the name shown 'Natsuki'. "Oh, Natsuki-chan!" she gleefully muttered to herself before standing up from her seat, "Excuse me everyone." And with that, she walked away from the lounge area and began to walk up to the next floor of the dorm.

At this point, the conversations started to die down and everyone just began to focus on drinking their specially-made hot chocolate before they became cold. And since there was nothing else to talk about that night, they all turned their attention to the TV, noticing that they were presenting the weather report even though they knew it wouldn't be any different to what it was.

When the same weather was being presented, Junpei bluntly grabbed the remote and pressed the power button to switch the TV off. "Same old, same old..." Junpei said with disapproval, "...haven't they got something else to report? A rocket could take off right now and they wouldn't care!" Everyone could relate to Junpei; they all thought the same thing.

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><p><em>0806 - Late Night_

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><p>Eventually, the tiredness and exhaustion started to kick in and the need for sleep encouraged some of the group to stand up from their seats. "Well, bedtime for me!" Yosuke preached with his usual comical disposition and lifting his hot chocolate from the table, "Thanks for the drink, Yu. It might actually let me sleep at night." Yu could only chuckle to what Yosuke said and bid him goodnight as he walked up the flight of stairs.<p>

Some of them were sleepy and some of them weren't, but they all decided to make their way to their dorm rooms despite their condition. As they said their goodnights when they reached their respective floors, they were only short walk away from their beds.

But after walking through their doors, they looked towards their wall-clocks and then their TVs, and immediately remembered something that would happen that night among many others. The Midnight Channel.

For the past few nights, they had changed into their pyjamas and nightgowns only to change back into their thick clothing for the excursion ahead of them. So all they could do was to stay with what they were in and wait on their beds patiently for the Midnight Channel to broadcast. They didn't want to get their hopes up too high, but they all wanted a free night from fighting their own friends. They constantly switch their sight between the TV and the clock with the disturbance of what they might behold. But they knew that they had to be patient and that they had to be prepared for anything.

Only a few minutes left, and the anxiety was already building.

**Sorry that this chapter took so long guys! Anyway, who will be on the Midnight Channel tonight I wonder? You will have to find out in the next chapter! In the meantime, keep reading and reviewing, and I will see you all later! CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Yukari: Are you alright?_

_Fuuka: Oh... hey, Yukari... I'm fine..._

_?: Distance is a most cruellest separation. But tonight, it shall no longer be a problem..._

_Yukari/Yukiko: Fuuka, no!_


	25. The Midnight Moriyama

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Twenty-Five_

_The Midnight Moriyama_

**How is it going today guys?! Welcome to the twenty-fifth chapter of the story! Now you might or might not already know, but I've posted something you might like on my profile. So when you're ready, get down to my profile and look on the first update you see under the 'Update Time' heading. I hope you like what you see! Now, since we're done with announcements for today...LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0806 - Late Night_

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><p>Only a few minutes left until midnight and everyone was starting to get restless; not just for the Midnight Channel, but also for the Dark Hour that added to their problems. The night they rescued Ken was shock for all when the discorded streets and the ghastly green shades returned to Iwatodai for reasons unknown. But for now, they all had to turn their focus to the TVs, and had to make their safety a priority.<p>

As she walked up the stairs with everyone to their respective dorm rooms, she looked around at the people she was walking with. And when she found that Fuuka wasn't one of the people amongst them, she remembered the call she took on the phone to Natsuki. But what she also remembered was that she didn't come back down to even say her goodnights to everyone. _"That's funny..." _Yukari thought to herself, _"...Fuuka didn't say goodnight..."_

When the boys broke away from the group on the first floor, she along with the other girls climbed the stairs to the next floor. Yukari knew Fuuka would be in her room, and after watching the others step into their rooms and locking their doors, she approached Fuuka's dorm, placing an ear on the wood of the door to check if she was in.

On the other side of the door, Yukari heard sniffles and soft whimpers, and immediately knew that Fuuka was the one making those heartbreaking noises. "Fuuka?" Yukari asked for her with a few gentle knocks on her door, "It's Yukari. Are you alright?" At first, there was no response, but the only difference Yukari found after knocking was the weeping noises that were made behind the door.

She knocked again, and after a short while, she found the doorknob slowly turning. And eventually, the door gradually creaked open with Fuuka appearing in between the small crack that was made upon opening the door. "Oh...hey Yukari...I'm fine..." Fuuka croaked, forcing a smile on her face to feign happiness, "...what are you doing up so late?"

Yukari knew she was asking to avoid anyone from helping her, but the tears that stained her face were an obvious sign. "Are you sure you're okay?" she asked again, getting a sharp and quick nod of the head. Fuuka wiped the corner of her eye to stop another tear from falling. "...Absolutely..." Fuuka muttered, "...I'm feeling rather tired though. I should...just get some rest...goodnight, Yukari." It was all too obvious to Yukari to ignore. When Fuuka slowly pushed the door closed, Yukari quickly held her hand against the door to push the door open again with a gentle force.

"Fuuka, please...is there something wrong?" Yukari asked for a third time as she swung the door wider. As soon as she was asked again, Fuuka looked down to the floor to find another excuse so that Yukari wouldn't have to worry. She wasn't the one who wanted to depend on others to help her; she wanted to do things on her own, even if it meant to make herself feel better when she was down.

But eventually, after finding no excuse good enough, Fuuka gave in to Yukari's will to help and turned away from her. She walked towards her bed and sat on the duvet with her head dropped to the floor with a strain in her neck. She didn't need to say anything; just letting Yukari into her room was enough for a response.

As Yukari stepped into Fuuka's room, she gentle shut the door behind her and turned the lock to keep some privacy. She turned back round and walked over to Fuuka's side, sitting next to her on the duvet covers. "It's Natsuki-chan..." Fuuka mumbled before wiping more incoming tears.

Yukari knew as much, but the way in which Fuuka said it made it sound like more than bad news. There were many morbid thoughts going through her mind, with the worst of what to think. Yukari wanted to ask, but the dreadful thought restricted her from saying. But after a short pause, she had to come out with it. "Natsuki Moriyama..." Yukari said hesitantly, "...did...something happen to her...?"

Fuuka didn't respond for a while, which only made Yukari worry more for her. But after she shook her head, Yukari felt relieved, but at the same time couldn't help but feel sympathetic for Fuuka. "No...she's fine, but..." Fuuka struggled to say over her soft sobs, "...it's...it's just that I miss her..."

It was a familiar topic that they both heard of that day, and Yukari could relate to her along with many others in the group if they were here to see Fuuka in the state she was in. It may have been under different circumstances, but to Fuuka, the sadness she felt could match what Yukari's sadness would feel like. "Oh, Fuuka..." Yukari said, rubbing her back with a soft hand to ease her pain.

"...It's silly, isn't it...?" Fuuka asked rhetorically with a sniffle, "...How one person can be so attached to another...and how distance between the two could make it so hurtful..." Yukari couldn't fully understand Fuuka's dilemma. Fuuka was weeping over a close friend who was still alive, and only the far distance she was away from her made it a problem. Yukari however had been constantly feeling the same mourning feeling for over two years for someone she still couldn't bear to lose.

"I wouldn't think of it as silly..." Yukari said as she lowered her own head to the floor, "...in fact...it's quite natural." She didn't know what else to say; the feelings were mutual. And as soon as Fuuka's mind was set on Yukari's problems, a look of realisation broke through the tears that smothered her face.

"Oh Yukari, I am so sorry! I-I wasn't being fair...I shouldn't have...brought it up..." she greatly apologised, making a greater effort to rub out every last tear that was still running down her face, and gathering the strength to change her mood even though she knew it wouldn't be done that easily. "No, don't worry Fuuka. You have every right to feel this way...it is painful to miss someone sometimes." Yukari reassured her, using the arm she had on her back to bring her into a friendly side-hug.

A long pause was left between the two, only to let Fuuka cry away the last of her sorrows into Yukari's shoulder. Just hearing Fuuka's sobbing made Yukari want to do the same, but the emotions were too normal to even create any tears; she had too much experience with the feeling.

After a long silence, a few more knocks were then heard at the door, followed by a sweet yet exhausted voice. "Hello? It's Yukiko..." said Yukiko as her voice muffled behind the door, "...is everything alright?" As Yukari looked towards the door, her first instinct was the open it, but after having her arm tugged by Fuuka, she looked back to her, seeing the look on her face as if to say she didn't want anymore help. But learning from Mitsuru and Yu's talk when she struggled with her message to the memorial, she knew that Fuuka was only making herself worse.

Yukari sat up from the bed and walked over to the door, slowly opening it to let Yukiko in. "Oh Fuuka, what's wrong?" Yukiko said immediately after stepping through the doorframe, hastily walking towards Fuuka with a look of utter sympathy. And like Yukari did, she sat on the bed next to her and gave her a friendly hug from the side to comfort her.

"She's getting there..." Yukari explained as she closed the door, and then thought she should give Yukiko the run-down on Fuuka's behalf, "...a good friend of hers transferred from Gekkoukan High nearly three years ago...I don't blame her for missing her..."

Knowing what Fuuka was going through, Yukiko could understand her situation perfectly out of her and Yukari. And when her mind was set on it, Yukiko also found a similar story that she remembered far too well to not tell it, let alone to let Fuuka know that she wasn't alone. "That must've been hard for both of you..." she sympathised, "...but I can relate to that..."

Just summoning the memory to mind was quite hard for Yukiko to do, but after a short moment of composure, she gathered the will to tell Fuuka her story. "When I was younger, I found a baby bluebird and decided to keep it as a pet until it grew up. The only time I could let it out was in my bedroom when my windows and door were closed. Come to think of it, I haven't been able to do that for almost a year now..." Yukiko began, already starting to make Fuuka feel a little bit better now that she was hearing the same story from another person.

She continued, "...but one day, when I came home, I found the cage empty and my window was wide open. I knew it had flown away. In the beginning, I felt as sad as you are now. But when I thought it over, I knew that I had to be happy for the bluebird. Do you know why?" After being asked the question, Fuuka gently shook her head. Yukiko answered, "Because the bird was finally free. It had been cooped up in a cage for so long, and when it escaped, it did make me upset at first. But I couldn't help but feel happy for the bird at the same time."

When Yukiko had finished her story, Fuuka's tears finally came to a halt even if they were still moistening her cheeks. Seeing this made Yukari all the more hopeful for her and when she approached the two to sit down next to Fuuka, she put on a friendly smile for her. "You see? You don't have to feel this way. Natsuki broke free from her cage didn't she? To see her ill father?" she asked, getting a somewhat confident nod of the head from Fuuka. "I...I guess so..." Fuuka replied hesitantly with a weak smile.

"You've got us as well," Yukiko added, "everyone in this dorm is your friend as well. So you've got them to think about as well." But as soon as she said this, Fuuka's smile faded in only a matter of seconds, and even when she wanted to say something, no words came out; her mouth quivered as a forceful act to say something, but there was nothing. Yukari and Yukiko noticed this and only felt awkward within the situation the three were in. They could only shrug it off and pretend like it never happened.

"I think...I think I'm feeling a bit better now..." Fuuka said with a husky tone, "...thanks guys..." Yukari and Yukiko gave a smile and a nod to Fuuka even though they were slightly put off by her inability to say anything upon talking about everyone else.

They both stayed with her a short while longer so that they will know that she is ready to go back to sleep again. After that short while, Fuuka let out a huge yawn that seemed contagious enough to make the other two yawn in unison with each other. They then stood up from the bed and wished Fuuka a goodnight before making their way out of Fuuka's door.

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><p><em>0807 - Dark Hour_

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><p>But then, after just closing the door, a muffled screeching of static noise was suddenly heard from around the corridor. As the two girls both listened and looked around cautiously with startled expressions, the sound seemed to be coming from the other dorm rooms. But the thing that made it worrying was that it was also coming from Fuuka's room too. "You don't think..." Yukari whispered to Yukiko with the dreadful thought of what the noise might be stuck in her head.<p>

"Nat...suki...?" Fuuka's voice said quietly through the wood of the door. And as soon as they heard her voice, Yukari and Yukiko quickly turned the door's handle and burst through the door, looking directly where they thought the noise was coming from.

But as they both thought, the TV screen shone a ghastly green colour that overpowered the white and black fuzzy colours of the white noise screen. The TV buzzed and flashed that caused painful sounds to enter the hearing of those within earshot. It was everything they couldn't help but find inevitable; the Midnight Channel.

They then looked back towards where Fuuka was sitting. Fortunately, they found her still sitting there, but the expression she had on her face that watched the screen of the TV was bland and almost pale with an emotionless disposition. They ran to her, knelt down to her and tried to get a look of her face. But when they looked into her eyes, they were horrified.

The navy blue eyes that were once hers were diluted into a brighter and more greener colour that matched the Midnight Channel's colour scheme that was being broadcasted on the unpowered TV. They tried to shake her shoulders and they tried talking and shouting for her, but no response was given. It was if she was a zombie, just sitting there out of her mind.

After a while, it was hopeless for them; they couldn't get to her. And when they followed the direction her eyes were looking in, they found the sole reason why the Midnight Channel was having an effect on her. On the screen was yet another dark silhouette that, this time, resembled the body of an adolescent girl. The hair of this girl seemed to be hanging from both sides of her head and some of it was wrapped up into a small ponytail near the middle of her head. Yukiko had no idea whatsoever of who this silhouette was, but when she looked at Yukari, she saw the look of shock on her face.

"Wait..." Yukari said when she examined the silhouette further for confirmation, and when she finally knew who it was, the shock showed a greater expression on her face, "...that's Natsuki! Fuuka's best friend! But why?" Yukiko had no idea what Yukari was talking about, but Yukari felt that there was no time to explain.

Then, a sudden burst of static was heard from the side of the three. And when Yukiko and Yukari looked towards the source of it, someone was there, standing in the darkest shadow in the room. The figure slowly walked out of the obscurity, leaving sounds of heavy footprints to vibrate through the floor-planks with an uncomfortable resonance. And when the light of the TV screen shone of the figure, the hood of a trench-coat was seen. It was one of the boy culprits.

Yukari and Yukiko immediately stood up and stood in front of Fuuka with arms slightly spread at their sides to defend their friend. The hooded boy just shook his head when they did this, and placed a hand on top of the TV. "Distance is a most cruellest separation. But tonight, it shall be no longer a problem..." the boy spoke to Fuuka with a low and menacing tone, "...a close friend should never be a faraway friend. So go. Your safe haven awaits you, and so does your friend..." Every word was a lie, and Yukiko and Yukari knew it.

They both looked behind them to check if Fuuka was still okay, but when they did, she wasn't there anymore. The only thing there was the dip in the bed covers where Fuuka sat. Looking at the empty spot made the girls fear for the worst, and when they looked towards the TV, the shock they then experienced nearly paralysed them.

Fuuka was already stood in front of the TV, but even more so, she was already beginning to climb through the screen. The girls instantly reacted, making a short sprint towards her with their hands and muscles at the ready. "Fuuka, no!" they shouted in unison when they both dived in to rescue her from a traumatising fate.

But in almost fractions of a short second, the whole of Fuuka's body slipped through the TV screen just when Yukari and Yukiko were about to grab her, leaving ripples to remind the two of their failure to pull her out in time. "FUUKA!" they both yelled at the screen, both in self-frustration and in helplessness.

Suddenly, a loud slam was heard at the door, turning both of their heads towards the ones who came through. The first person they saw was Yu followed by the rest of the group with determination in their posture. Yu was looking around the room, and the first thing he found was the trench-coated boy was was standing in the corner of the room where the TV and the girls were. "You!" he shouted as he rushed towards him with a clenched fist at the ready.

The boy just chuckled when he watched this happening, standing in his casual stance as a sign of mockery. "Ha! And another one bites the dust!" he shouted with derision. And before Yu could even throw his fist, the boy buzzed out of view with a static outline flashing in his place as he vanished in an instant, making Yu as angered as all the other times the boy did this.

A short while passed, and everyone took a moment to calm down and reflect on what happened. For Yukari and Yukiko, it was a horrible experience. And for Yu and the others, they could understand their disturbance. "Are you two okay?" Yu asked Yukari and Yukiko, putting his hands on their shoulders to comfort them from the shock they had endured.

"It's Fuuka..." Yukari said slowly after composing herself, "...that guy took her...she's in the TV now!" Most of the group knew, but even so, losing Fuuka was a great shock to everyone; Fuuka was one of the group's supporting teammates. Yu didn't need to say anything, everyone knew that they were about to enter the TV again.

In fact, Yu wasn't inclined in any way to say anything; he was put off by the fact that another extremely valuable teammate and friend was captivated by the TV world. And to make things worse, he saw the battle ahead of them with a degrading hope, in the knowledge that some tactical support was lost.

Everyone saw the struggle that Yu was having, which made them worry slightly. But Yu had only one fixed thought in his head, and he turned his head round to the others with no second thoughts interrupting him. "Get your Evokers and glasses at the ready. We should depart. Now."

**Ooooh! Tense cliffhanger! I'm getting myself all excited now, and I hope you all are too! Fuuka, huh? What do you guys think is going to happen? Anyway, keep reading and reviewing, and you will hear from me again in the twenty-sixth chapter! My god, TWENTY-SIXTH?! So, until next time guys...CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Yukari: ... The gym... Do you think she'll be in there?_

_Mitsuru: Going by Fuuka's previous experiences with the school, the gym if by far the best guess we have._

_Junpei: I always say that I hate school... but this just takes the cake..._

_Shadow Fuuka: Natsuki-chan... we're best friends... don't you want to be with me...?!_


	26. The Yamagishi Bully

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Twenty-Six_

_The Yamagishi Bully_

**Well, hello there you beautiful people! Here we are, the twenty-sixth chapter, and the best part, it isn't even close to ending yet! I hope you all have had a good gander at my profile. If you haven't, there is some information on there some of you might want to see. So get on there! Now that the announcements are done...LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0807 - Dark Hour_

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><p>They had all been too used to the rainy weather at this point, but on this night, the atmosphere was just as heavy as the first night they fought together in the TV. The situation was just as routined as any other night they had experienced thus far, but the teammate they couldn't rescue from falling under the hooded boy's control was someone crucial to providing vital information for their battles. Even Rise was feeling the pressure of giving everyone this backup on her own; it was a familiar feeling, but it was much greater than the times when she had to provide intel for the Investigation Team only.<p>

"Is everyone ready?" Yu asked as he stood next to Mitsuru's TV. He was just as nervous as everyone else was, and the only response he got were varied nods of the head; some feigned confidence and some hesitated to answer. They all knew that anything before them would be completely different to what they would expect; Rise's power to give everyone the right information never faltered to cause any disadvantage, but without Fuuka, it was just too much work that she had no choice but to bear.

"I'm just thinking now..." Ken spoke in the uncomfortable silence, "...no offence to Fuuka-san or anything, but if you think about it...don't you think this might be an easy fight?" At first, everyone looked at him with interest, but they weren't quite sure as to what he meant. So he continued. "The Shadows we fought before resembled our Personas, right? So since Fuuka's Persona can't give her the ability to attack, then surely this would be the case for her Shadow. Am I right?"

Understanding his thesis, some of the S.E.E.S members approved of Junpei's thought. But the Investigation Team knew too well why it wouldn't be possible having gone through the experience in the past. "It's a nice theory," Naoto said, "but it might not be possible. Rise's Shadow was able to attack when we fought it even though her Persona isn't able to."

"Hey c'mon..." Akihiko interrupted abruptly, "...we don't even know Fuuka has a Shadow yet. Don't start assuming the worst when you don't know it yet." Ken just scratched his head shamefully after listening to Akihiko's order. Yu couldn't agree more. "Of course," he said in defence of Akihiko's view, "we should get going as well. The quicker we find her, the more chance we have of rescuing her without having to fight." And with that, the conversations ended and everyone began to make their way into the TV world.

In a single file, they each slowly climbed through the TV screen, launching themselves into the familiar corridor of black and white. As they all delved deeper and deeper towards the exit, they made their way past the rectangular, TV-shaped outlines that made the illusion before them. It was always a dizzying experience to go through, especially after experiencing it multiple times, but everyone managed to refrain from letting it go to their heads.

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><p><em>0807 - Dark Hour - The TV World_

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><p>Helping each other of of the stacked TVs, they were once again presented with the tainted landscape around them. The air was just as cold as the last time they came here, and the fog was just as thick. But the challenges they were faced with have changed, and in a way that didn't favour them at all.<p>

Rise took her stand near the edge of the platform and took her Evoker out of her holster. With no time wasted, she quickly pointed the barrel to her forehead and clicked the trigger with a hasty finger, bringing out Kanzeon from the depths of her psyche in the common indigo inferno.

As Kanzeon placed the crown over Rise's eyes, she began to scan the entire area for Fuuka's whereabouts all on her own. Before her eyes was the look of a computer screen, showing multiple graphs and scanning frequencies that aided her in her search.

Rise looked intently through Kanzeon's eyes and searched far and wide with the long range she had to find any sign of Fuuka around the area. But after a while, Rise was struggling, only being able to find thicker layers of fog and the corrupted backgrounds where they all fought before. "Nrrrrg...come on..." she muttered to herself with a concentration that felt like a needle prodding her mind.

"Rise, are you okay? Don't push yourself too hard..." Yu advised with a great concern when he saw her slightly grimaced face from her strong concentration. Rise didn't want to lose any valuable time for scanning the area. She cared about Fuuka, especially when they were both beside each other as if they both acted as a team of their own. But she could understand Yu's worry; she was tortured by Ken's Shadow from the night before right in front of him. And as that thought came to her head, she heeded his plea, not just for her health but for him as well.

And suddenly, Kanzeon sensed something, passing it on to Rise with a tingled feeling of realisation. "Oh! I've found her!" she shouted to the others, dismissing her Persona as she turned round. Everyone gathered around her for her verdict with eager wills to get going. "Fuuka's in some sort of school from what I gather...Gekkoukan perhaps? I'm not sure which room though..." Rise said, and upon mentioning the school, the members of S.E.E.S and even the Investigation Team were surprised about Fuuka's location.

S.E.E.S seemed very confident about the ongoing operation since they knew the place very well, and even some of the Investigation Team could say the same; they fought at that same location, and it was the very place where they rescued Mitsuru from her Shadow. As Yu looked towards her, he could see the look of disgust and misery on her face upon the mention of it.

"The school?" Yukari asked herself as well as the others around her, "...The gym...do you think she'll be in there?" The Investigation Team felt that the one room she mentioned could have been one of many possible rooms she could be in; it was a school after all. But S.E.E.S knew perfectly what she was talking about. "It's quite likely. Going by Fuuka's previous experiences with the school, the gym if by far the best guess we have." Mitsuru theorised, only deepening the curiosities of the Investigation Team.

But precious time was of the essence, and Fuuka was getting ever nearer to a possible outcome that they all knew too well from their aching muscles they kept feeling after every night so far. "Whatever the reasons, we have to get down there," Yu said confidently in his signature tone of leadership, "Fuuka is a very capable girl, and since she has the same power as Rise's, she would do very well in avoiding anything in the dungeon. But if we ever come across her Shadow, which we all hope won't be the case, be prepared for a difficult battle. Her powers could be quite formidable if they're being used against us." Everyone admired Yu's concern for the people he cared for and even his consideration of the risks that lied ahead of them all.

With the preparations ready, they quickly set off, following Rise's and Yu's lead through the mixed layers of fog and mist. The Investigation Team had a vague idea of where they were going, following their path with some level of confidence using the knowledge they had from their operation that rescued Mitsuru. But the fog were less thicker back then, and the beaten path before them limited their vision, which in turn lessened their confidence in where they were going. Even Rise was pressured with finding the right path to the corrupted high school.

"I'm just curious, but..." Yukiko began, feeling as if she was intruding on personal matters, "...we know now that Fuuka-san is at the school, but you also mentioned the gym specifically...is there a reason why that might be?" Upon being asked, S.E.E.S was delved back into their memories, back to the time when they conducted their own investigation on Fuuka's disappearance that caused many false rumours to spread around the school. It was a very irritating time just remembering the voices of those that mocked Fuuka, but they felt the need to answer Yukiko's question. "I don't know either..." Ken said honestly, "...did something happen to Fuuka-san in the gym?"

"Well..." Akihiko began, giving a soft clear of his throat, "...before we met Fuuka, she was bullied by other girls constantly everyday. One of those girls was Natsuki, the one we saw on the Midnight Channel tonight." Only a fraction of the way through the story, and the Investigation Team were already confused by the thought of Fuuka's bully being the very thing that drew her into the TV.

But Akihiko continued, "After school one day, Natsuki locked Fuuka in the gym overnight as one of her bullying tactics. But when they came back to let her out, she was gone. And it so turned out that when Fuuka was still in the gym and when the Dark Hour was active, the school, including the gym, transformed into Tartarus. And amazingly, Fuuka had to survive that tower for nearly ten days." When Akihiko finished talking, the Investigation Team were absolutely shocked by what they heard.

"Ten days?!" Yosuke raised his voice with an exaggerated shock, "I wouldn't even last just staying here for two days!" Most of the people around him found it quite amusing to hear, but they couldn't find it in them to give even a small chuckle; the matter at hand was just too grave.

No one said another word afterwards. Yukiko's question had been answered, and nothing else needed to be said. They all just focused on making their way through murky air in the quickest pace they could go at. They couldn't run in case of any early injuries that could have happened if they had done so; they could only power-walk their way.

After a long while that seemed like forever, their trek finally ended as the landmark that was the Gekkoukan High School stood before them with a scenery that was surprisingly very unfamiliar to the S.E.E.S members. They could only remember the school on the surface and as the dark labyrinth that was Tartarus. But now that they were in the TV world, the rules were completely different.

"I always say that I hate school..." Junpei joked under his breath in an attempt to calm himself from the nerves that were shaking him up, "...but this just takes the cake..." After saying it he wish he didn't even mention it, only making himself as well as others around him feel more fearful for what might come in this corrupted building.

The look of the school was unwelcoming and the air was just too ominous to even step through the doors without expecting any problems upon entering. But nonetheless, there was someone in the very belly of the dungeon that they couldn't afford to lose, both as friend and teammate. So they all entered through the glass doors in a single file, trying every effort to not make any noise in the discomforting silence.

When they closed the doors behind them, everything became motionless; the hallways that were laid out before them were dead, and there wasn't even the slightest sound of wind or even life that made the surroundings seem anything to be alive. It was a barren wasteland in every corridor and every room of the school, a feeling that the Investigation Team and Mitsuru were cruelly reminded of.

The speculation they all made earlier lead them to believe that Fuuka might be waiting in the gym, and as they made their way, they could only hope that she hasn't come across her Shadow or even come into contact with it if there was one. But as the seconds kept passing by, the hope they had gradually diminished to the point where hope wasn't the thing to rely on with the dreadful situation that was being pictured in their heads.

Rise and Yu ran at the front of the group as the navigator and the leader, and even having not had much time to learn the school well from last time, Rise's amplified sense of direction, as a result of Kanzeon's ability, was the very thing that made the group advance towards where they needed to go with a dramatic progress.

"Fuuka! Fuuka!" they all shouted individually as they ran through the blackened corridors of the now-haunted school. The only response they got was the echoes of their own voices, bouncing off the marble walls and floors that were tainted with green and red discordance.

Eventually, after spiralling and zig-zagging through endless hallways and corridors, the large doors to the indoor gym were finally in sight, and fortunately, there were no more corridors to run across. To everyone, the doors in front of them seemed as if they were slowly crawling further away from them, but with the many corridors they had experienced along the way, they knew that it was just the trick of the eye.

As they approached the doors, Yu grabbed the vertical doorhandles and pulled them towards him to swing them open. But in doing so, the doors didn't even budge. The locks were applied, and with each vigorous pull Yu makes in an attempt to break those locks, the fear of not being able to open the doors in time was settling with each attempt. "The door's locked?!" Yukiko shouted in a release of panic, watching as Yu pulls the handles and hearing the slamming of the locks as he does so.

"C'mon, c'mon! Open up!" Yu shouts with worries rising. When pulling was not getting him anywhere, the only thought that came to his mind was just to punch the wood of the doors, even though he knew it wouldn't do any good; it was all a response to his panic.

Fortunately, Junpei had a lot of experience with locked doors in the past and rapidly came forward to the front of the group. He quickly reached into his pocket and pulled out was seemed to be a paperclip that was twisted and bent into a deformed shape. When they saw this little piece of metal, everyone knew what Junpei was about to do; it was one of the many old tricks in the book.

Junpei grasped the paperclip with the gentle squeeze of his index finger and thumb, and he immediately poked it through one of the keyholes that were too low for him to stand up straight doing was his doing. As he bent down, he prodded around for the little triggers in the lock's mechanism and thought very hard to remember the correct sequence of clicks he was meant to perform whilst poking around for the triggers.

Everyone was getting anxious as Junpei continued to perform what looked like an impossible task, and the urge for him to hurry was getting to the point where impatience was the only thing they were feeling. They didn't want to hurry Junpei in case it might make him panic more than he is now, but there was a precious life at stake and even he knew that.

Suddenly, the lock made a clunk in accordance with a twist of Junpei's paperclip, and everyone flinched at the sound with a startled twitch in their muscles. Knowing that the door was unlocked, they all quickly swung the door wide open with such a force that the hinges nearly broke from their bolts. And as they all poured into the indoor gym, they all stopped in their tracks with a painful squeak of their shoes against the polished floor.

They were stopped by a sight they unwillingly pictured perfectly from the start of the operation, and the gasps that came as a result of their shock echoed throughout the gym so they could hear their reaction over and over before the collective sounds of everyone died into the silence.

In front of them was Fuuka, already showing the golden eyes and wicked look that all the other Shadows from previous fights could relate to. The same chilling expression applied to all Shadows, but with Fuuka, it was frightening to the core to see her pull such a look; it was like putting two opposites together that created an ugly combination. The Fuuka they knew was sweet, kind and considerate. But finding that expression on her face gave her a different personality altogether.

Her actions were also effected by the Shadow's control over the turquoise-haired innocent. Behind Fuuka was Natsuki, donning the angelic outline that shone from every inch of her body with a calm glow. Fuuka was grabbing the spirit by the wrist, holding on tightly with a grip so excruciating that even the bones of a human being couldn't stand. Even though she was grabbing her, Fuuka gave her full attention to the group that stood before her, snarling and standing between them and Natsuki as if she was protecting her best friend.

"Stop Fuuka! You're hurting me!" Natsuki cried out as she held her wrist in writhing agony. Fuuka heard this, but instead of giving her the look she gave to the others, she looked at her friend with a look of disapproval, yet she seemed sad.

"But...Natsuki-chan..." Fuuka whimpered with the familiar Shadow's tone lingering in her voice-box that sounded as if she struck a wrong chord, "...we're best friends...don't you want to be with me...?! We're meant to look out for each other...!" Fuuka's shouts of emotional distress almost sounded as if she was giving out desperate pleas to her friend to stay with her. At first, to everyone, it 'sounded' like it was like that. But they remembered that it was her Shadow that was speaking; her pleas came from her inner thoughts. What she said was true.

"We don't have to be apart anymore...you see...?" Fuuka continued, forcing a smile to Natsuki with the corner of her lips, curling in such an inhumane way that it almost made Fuuka seem more Shadow than anything that resembled a normal human. But when she turned back round to the others, there was no trace of Fuuka left. All that they could see was a Shadow that only took on an appearance of someone they once knew.

She gave them the same snarl. "Why are you punks still here?!" Fuuka yelled to the group, acting in the way that was completely different to how she would normally act; and the word 'punk' was something entirely new and totally unlike her on such a level. She continued to yell, "You never cared about me before...so why now?! Of all times! ...But there's no need for it now...I don't need your pity! ...I've got Natsuki-chan now...she's the one who truly cares about me...but to you, I'm just a voice in your head...hardly even listened to..."

This was Fuuka unlike anything they've seen before. Everything was different about her, and this Shadow was by far the most controversial one they saw that was, if not, seemed completely the opposite to her original self. Even most of the group couldn't accept that it was the real Fuuka, but it was right there in front of them. There was no use arguing about it, and all of them knew that Fuuka was the one who was denying if it was to reach this stage.

"Fuuka, what's gotten into you?" Yukari asked her with austerity, yet with a great concern for her friend, "What do you mean 'we don't care about you'? Of course we do, we all do! We value you just as much as we value everyone else. Why would we think less of you?" Yukari tried to get through to Fuuka, only for her words to be ignored and spat back at her face.

"Then tell me, Yukari...do you value everyone as much as you value Minato?" Fuuka scoffed with the same crooked smile, immediately silencing Yukari with the name and the truth behind what she was saying. Yukari didn't know how to answer to Fuuka's reply; it was so cunning, yet it lurched her heart into a way that felt like it sank below her stomach.

"That's enough!" Yu shouted to Fuuka, holding out his arm in an act of protecting Yukari from her words. He knew that words weren't going to get through to her. He knew that from his previous experiences. The only reluctant option left was to bring Fuuka back to her senses with a battle. Yu brandished his sword as he held it behind him in preparation. And as he did this, everyone else took this as an indication to spread out across the gym, holding their respective weapons tightly in their grip.

But before anyone could say anything, Fuuka belted out a laughter that resonated throughout the gym with the evil echoes that repeated over and over. These echoes however, wasn't the end. As Fuuka continued to mock the group with her laughter, blankets of darkness enveloped her, and the dark shrouds that danced around her were sent as a warning to those who were witnessing it.

The power she gathered was then thrown out into the open battlefield, causing gales of massive forces to push everyone away from the source of the explosion of darkness. As this happened, the pitch-black colour that erupted from where Fuuka stood started to spread along the floors and walls of the gym like a disease. And when the whole area was covered in nothing but black, everyone's vision was cut off by a dramatic margin.

This only lasted for a short while, but afterwards, everyone opened their eyes slowly to see the dread that towered over them. They widened their eyes to see the true form of Fuuka's Shadow.

The top half of what seemed to be Juno was standing on its hips in a pool of black Shadow flesh, and its size was much larger than the original Persona. But instead of standing in its usual stance, it held out its two hands to hold a massive crystal ball using telekinesis to slowly spin it.

Inside the crystal ball was clear water that filled the glass right to the top. But the very thing that shocked everyone when they looked closely inside it, was Fuuka, holding up her hands and head in the way Juno did. Her clothes had undergone a drastic change, going from her usual thick casual clothing to something that made her seem angelic, yet demonising at the same time.

She wore silk and velvet sari-like scarves that matched her hair colour. But also, these scarves were covering up her bare body, and they were swaying gently in time with her hair as if Fuuka was floating underwater. The thing that made her looked contrary to the beautiful image she was donning was the yellow eyes that were just peeking through her eyelids; she seemed as if she was asleep.

The entirety of the Shadow, was the spitting image of a fortune-teller, but more disturbing, mainly because of the power Fuuka had at her disposal. Fuuka was able to tell where an opponent was, and on top of that, she could tell what the weaknesses and patterns of attacks the opponent has, which was a problem when they saw the full view of the Shadow.

"I am a Shadow...the true self..." Fuuka bellowed those familiar words with the Shadow's voice speaking over her original tone, "...if you truly value me as a friend, leave me here...with MY best friend..."

Before anyone could make any thoughts on attacking, the floor underneath everyone rumbled along with Fuuka's words. But the rumble after a short moment became much larger in magnitude, almost as if they were standing at the source of an earthquake. And when the shaking underneath them was at the point of making them all lose their footing, Fuuka slowly lifted her hands above her head, which in turn raised Juno's hand with her.

As everyone watched this happen, the fears started to rise knowing that anything can happen with Fuuka, and because of the quaking ground, it was very hard to see what she was trying to achieve. But then suddenly, Fuuka's eyes widened with a yell that screeched throughout the area, causing everyone to hold their ears in pain, struggling to stop the noise from entering their canals.

Eventually, the noise was so powerful, that everyone suddenly blacked out, collapsing to the floor with staggering legs that tripped them out due to the shaking of the earth. Yu was the only one who managed to keep his mind clear before giving into the blackout that everyone else succumbed to. As he collapsed to the ground, the last thing he saw was the shadow of his eyelids slowly closing. But before he knew it, his body landed on the ground with a thud.

Gradually, the noise started to fade from his mind, and the only thing he could hear was dead silence; the sound of unconsciousness, the sound of loneliness, but worst of all, the sound of defeat.

But then, the weight on his eyelids started to lift, and he was beginning to come to, waking his mind from what felt like a slumber. He slowly picked himself up, dusted himself off, and picked up his katana that was laid on the ground from a distance away.

He looked around for the others, only to find that they had gone; no one was is sight, not even Fuuka and her Shadow. But there was worse around him. The landscape around him changed dramatically from a blackened gym, to a labyrinth of corridors and hallways; those that were completely different to what he and the others went through in the normal school dungeon.

The corridors were tainted with black and purple colours, and some corridors just led to a dead end. But the frightening feature about the walls of these corridors were the large purple mask-like faces that were poking through the walls with eyes closed and neutral expressions. There was also the occasional dripping of blood falling down the corners of what looked like a maze.

Yu didn't find any of this familiar at all. But he suddenly remembered what S.E.E.S had told him about the school during the Dark Hour. He remembered the tower it became when it becomes midnight, and when he thought about it further, it hit him.

"_Is this...Tartarus?" _he asked himself, shocked and stiffened as a result of his fright.

**And that is the twenty-sixth chapter guys! This was quite a hard chapter to write, but I'm still having fun nonetheless! And I hope you are all enjoying it too! Anyway, keep reading and reviewing and in the meantime...the TWENTY-SEVENTH chapter will come to you in no time! CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Yu: What happened, Rise?! How did we get separated?!_

_?: After my hiatus, I think it was time to get back into the swing of things with you._

_Ken: Y-You can't make me look to the past! Now let go of Junpei!_

_Shadow Fuuka: Without your friends, you are weak. And you remember that so well from the last time you left them._


	27. Into The Arqa

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Twenty-Seven_

_Into The Arqa_

**Why hellooo guys! I hope you are enjoying the story so far, and for those who have Persona 4: Arena, I hope you are enjoying or have enjoyed that as well! I haven't been able to have my copy...I am in Europe after all... Anyway! There are no announcements today so... LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0807 - Dark Hour - The TV World - The Magatsu Tartarus_

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><p>The surrounding were all too new to Yu, and the presentation of it all was just too ghastly to handle in the condition of loneliness he was in. But that was the thing that affected him the most. Not the landscape that was set out before him; one of his outstanding abilities was the adapt to change, even if it was the school's gym that turned into corridors of Tartarus that looked more horrific than he imagined. But it was the feeling of being alone.<p>

He had come across the feeling many times before. He could remember the exact feelings he experienced from last spring when he had to return to the city from Inaba's only train station. The feeling of leaving his friends was a heartbreaking time for him, and even looking back on that time wrenched his stomach to a point that felt as if it was literally twisting itself. He could remember the tears he shed when the train doors closed behind him, and he could recall the tears of his friends. But when he remembered Rise's tears, the pain of that moment returned to him like a sharp punch to his chest that squeezed his heart like a wet sponge.

The fog that lingered throughout the dark corridors of the 'Magatsu Tartarus' was also another problem Yu had to get through. The fog of the TV world and the labyrinth of Tartarus; two different worlds, but of the same level of fear that, when put together made an atmosphere so demonic and ghastly that even a brave soul might tremble at the surrounding around them. This was the case for Yu.

These were the feeling that replicated itself in the copied Tower of Demise. Yu shook his head in an attempt to shake off the emotions that got to his head. "Wh...What are you doing, Yu?" he asked himself with a harsh tone, "Fuuka's in danger...this isn't the time to-" But before he could finish his sentence, a familiar jingle was heard in his head, interrupting his thoughts from thinking such things.

"_Yu! Yu, can you hear me?! Please answer me!" _cried out a familiar voice that echoed in his head with a ring of despair. Yu couldn't hear it from another part of the maze that was laid out before him, and the voice sounded internal, as if it was emitting from the front of his mind. "Rise!" he shouted back in response, remembering the person that the voice belonged to, "What's happened, Rise?! How did we get separated?!" It was a very hectic time for him and for Rise and the others, considering that Fuuka's Shadow was nowhere to be seen as well.

"_Oh, thank goodness your safe..." _Rise began with a sigh of relief, _"...this is exactly what happened when we rescued Mitsuru-senpai, except we were on the roof of Tartarus when it happened. We're on the inside of it. And because we were inside the school, we all got split up onto different floors..."_

Feeling like he understood the situation better, Yu had to know where exactly she, along with everyone else including himself, were inside the tower. "Can you tell where everyone is? I think we need to make a rendezvous point and guarantee everyone's safety before finding Fuuka." he replied, making a quickly-thought plan in the hope that Rise had the power, without the help of Fuuka, to find everyone.

"_I've already located everyone," _Rise reassured Yu, _"and it seems like you're on a higher floor than anyone else." _With the much-needed intel from Rise, Yu quickly knew what to do and started scanning around the corridors for the safest one to approach. As soon as he found one, his instincts immediately told him to make his way down it. _"I'll let everyone know where you are, Yu..." _Rise echoed in Yu's mind again, _"...we'll make our way up to you. I think the best way is just to stay on that floor and find some stairs in the meantime. Please be careful, Senpai!"_

Following Rise's advice, Yu began to run through the corridors, careful to not get too close to the large masks that slumbered on the wall with an inauspicious feeling that they wouldn't make a move on him. The shades of black, purple and violet shone of the walls and floors with an odd glow that almost gave a different definition of darkness entirely. The colours made Yu mistaken the shades for Shadows when he approached them from time to time.

With every corner Yu ran around, every corridor was completely new to him; there was absolutely no way he could know where he was going. The walls, floors and ceilings were all of the same motif, and nothing was giving him any clues as to where he was going. The directions he chose were purely based on gut-instinct, and he knew that going around the labyrinth blindly was a dangerous option to choose. But it was the only option if he was to avoid any imminent hazard that would've come to him if he was just to stand still.

The running was long, tedious and monotonous, but after turning another corner, he could eventually rest easy. Upon entering the corner, he was welcomed with a larger area of space that was almost triple the size of the corridors' width. But in the far corner was what Yu was looking for; the stairs, which glowed a brighter purple colour than the dirty maze he had to endure. Now all he had to do was to wait, which gave him some time to catch his breath from the seemingly-endless running with the aid of the heavy air that worked up his lungs.

Turning away from the stairs, he fixed his eyes on the way he came in, watching for any sudden movement from unexpected enemies and waiting for his friends to come for him. Yu knew this to be a perfect spot for inevitable danger, but he was where he wanted to be, and he stood in waiting as he stood his ground.

Suddenly, a sharp echo of enthusiasm erupted from behind him, shouting, "A-ha! There you are!" Hearing this so unexpectedly made Yu flinch in a startled manner. But after finding the voice so familiar, it made him irritated and somewhat fearful to hear it again. Yu quickly turned his body round to find the source of the voice and immediately found a figure sitting halfway up the stairs with what seemed like a human skull in the palm of his hand. It was the dark-hooded boy with the black jacket.

"I see that my cohort was hogging all the fun with you. So, after my hiatus, I think it was time to get back into the swing of things with you." the boy mocked contemptuously, waving the skull in a taunting manner as if waiting for a reply from Yu. It was already disturbing enough that the boy was holding an unmistakably human skull in his hand, but what was more disturbing was just his appearance.

"This has been a regular thing with you and the other guy..." Yu said sternly, placing his hand on the tsuka of his katana in preparation for anything unexpected, "...why is that? If you wanted to get rid of us, why not do it yourself rather than getting our own Shadows to do it for you? You said once before that you didn't want to 'get your hands dirty'. But that sounds like a coward's response to me..."

As he did before, the boy just gave a dismissive chuckle in an act of shrugging off what Yu had said. The boy leaned forward in his seat. "You may think it to be cowardly, but I call it being busy with other engagements. But you wouldn't know that...we just talk 'cryptic' after all." the boy answered wittingly, reminding Yu of the insult he had given to the hoods. Yu wanted to say something, but after hearing the part of the boy 'being busy', he had to dig deeper into what he meant.

"Busy? You mean your 'grand plan'?" Yu asked with a tone of authority, only to be presented with another badly-hidden snigger. He didn't know how to react to it; it was either that he was right, or that he was wrong. But the boy seemed to take pleasure in winding people's minds up. "When it suits me," the boy replied, "but I also just kill time playing with others."

"Others?" Yu asked again with widened eyes and a shocked expression, "You mean...we're not the only people you're messing around with?! Who else do you mean?!" The boy just gave a mocking gesture of recoil at Yu's shouting and returned to his normal sitting position with a scoff. The hood shook his head. "Relax...you've never even met them." the boy replied with his usual act of keeping the truth away with off-subject small talk. Yu knew the boy too well to even carry on this argument; once the answers stopped coming out, that was it. Nothing more.

There was a moment of silence between the two, and Yu couldn't help but keep his eyes off of the skull that the boy held tightly in his grip. At first he wondered where he even got it from since human bodies wouldn't just simply decay in the TV world. They would either survive and exit through a TV to return to the real world, or they would end up dead and have their bodies hung from a telephone aerial, but still with their flesh and bones intact. "W-What's with the skull?" Yu asked, disturbed by the thoughts of how the boy would answer him.

"What? This?" the boy asked, finding it somewhat hilarious when Yu asked about the skull, "I just found it over there in that corner. It's definitely human, but not exactly...looks like it just spawned here like the dungeon did. Perhaps someone died here...or maybe it's no one's..." At first, Yu was slightly confused by what the boy was saying; the skull was human, yet not human, and that the skull just appeared with the dungeon. But the more he thought about it, the more he began to understand. It then hit him.

"That must mean..." Yu thought to himself, "...whatever is inside here, Fuuka created it all. Did she create that skull from her thoughts? And it didn't belong to anyone? What could that mean?" Countless thoughts raced through Yu's mind, but only speculation was his tool to get some answers. As he then looked around him, there were many skulls laid out in the other corners of the area he was standing in. And he could also remember the bones he passed by as he was running through the corridors.

Yu couldn't remember anything that Mitsuru or the others had said that related to skulls or anything skeletal. They didn't even mention anything like it. But he was yet again cut off by the boy scoffing.

"C'mon, it's not that hard! Have you learnt nothing from your Composition classes?" the boy said, beginning to mock Yu's own intellect, "Think of the skull as some kind of symbolism, if you will. If I was to put a connotation with the skull, I would say...oh, I don't know...death?" Yu thought that the boy was just wisecracking, but as soon as he mentioned that one word, 'death', he feared the worst for what Fuuka had been thinking to create the skull.

"What do you mean?" Yu asked sternly, "Are you saying that Fuuka thought about death when she created this place? That's absurd!" At this point, the boy found it too easy to win an argument against Yu, already having the answers in his head at the ready. The hood tutted with a shake of his head. "Can't you think why?" he said, as if he was disapproving Yu of his naivety, "She's after all of you because of how you all look down on her! You treat her like the victim she was back then! Hell, you even made her your 'support' and made her stand at the side of a battle out of sympathy for her. It's so obvious! ...And have you noticed how much of a bully she's become? She seems like she was you dead!"

Yu couldn't believe what he was hearing. The boy may have found it to be obvious, but to Yu, nothing about it seemed easy to understand. As he said before, it was absurd. He knew Fuuka all too well to even think of her in such a way, and if he were too, it would be a different person altogether. But then, he remembered the personality Fuuka underwent before finding himself lost inside the belly of the TV world's very own Tartarus. She acted like a local school bully towards him and the others, calling them 'punks', and speaking in such a way that was far off from the kind and sensitive disposition that belonged to Fuuka.

Suddenly, Yu could hear multiple footsteps from behind him, all of different paces. "Yu!" shouted the many voices that followed after, turning his body round to the ones who called for him. Relieved, he saw his group of friends reuniting with him and standing with him against the hooded boy with each other's strength added to their own."You again?!" Yosuke shouted to the boy after seeing him for the second time, "You were on the Midnight Channel last night! I'm surprised you even had the balls to finally come out of hiding!"

"Ah, I was waiting for an audience. I had something to say to you all before I leave..." the boy said with a cynical tone, "...now answer me this..." He extended his arm out with the human skull's jaw gripped in his fingertips. He then lifted his head up slightly and cleared his throat with a sharp cough. "'To be, or not to be? That is the question'." And with that, he threw the skull with an underarm throw towards Yu, only to find that he had no intention on catching it. Nonetheless though, the boy just sat up from his seat and turned round, sprinting up the stairs to the next floor.

Yu's first instinct was to go after him, but looking more closely at the direction the boy was running in after reaching the top of the stairs, he knew that chasing someone blindly through a maze that constantly changes would lead to disaster. Yu could only just give a look of hatred, knowing that the boy would just run off with his satisfaction. He hummed in annoyance and calmed himself once more before focusing on the main objective of the operation.

"This place..." Yu said to the others, "...it's much bigger than I imagined. Finding Fuuka here will be difficult..." Hearing this coming from Yu, everyone didn't know whether to feel worried for his own opinion on the status of the operation, or the amount of potential hazard which they were placed in. But when Rise stepped forward with a look of confidence that stood out from the group, they only had to worry about one of those things.

"Wait, I sense her..." Rise muttered as she tapped into her power without the need for Kanzeon's assistance, "...she's close by...she might be on the next floor, senpai. I can tell she's not on this floor, and the one above us has a wider area." As soon as Rise, mentioned it, it brought a familiar memory back to Mitsuru's mind. The other members of S.E.E.S remembered as well, giving disheartened looks when they did.

"A wider area...Rise, what floor is this? There's a good chance that the next floor will be the highest one in the block." Akihiko asked of her, sharing his theory as he spoke. As she nodded, her Persona was calmly summoned to her aid, using the crowned device the scan the tower from the bottom to their destination for a quicker verdict. Almost instantly, Rise had her answer. "We're on the sixty-third floor. And Akihiko's right. The floor above us is the last one in this block...Fuuka's there as well."

"Well, we know the drill. Let's get going!" Junpei shouted as he prepared his double-handed sword, as if he was urging everyone to do the same. And without another second wasted, they made their way up the large flight of stairs, being careful to not lose too much of their energy whilst running. Even though they weren't using the full strength in their legs to make their way towards the next floor, they quickly huddled together as they reached the top, looking left, right, up and down for any sign of Fuuka or her Shadow.

It was just as Rise said; the room they were standing in was not of a maze, but of a wider area that consisted of just one large room, with another set of stairs standing before them that tempted them to avoid the ominous atmosphere they were standing in. The walls and floors were of the same colour scheme, and the absence of Fuuka's presence made it all the more worrisome.

They all broke apart from each other and began their search party to look around the room for anything out of the ordinary that they didn't find on the previous floor, with the exception of the hooded boy. Not even he was in sight, but the stairs ahead of them was a possibility of that. After a while, there was nothing to see but the repeated colours of the scenery. The only clue they had left was the next set of stairs.

"C'mon, she might be in the next block..." Yu ordered his friends to the stairs, looking up at the gap in the ceiling above to see what was at the top. But as he checked behind him to have another look at the open area, he wasn't satisfied with the way things were in that room; it was just too quiet, and the room was spacious enough for an ambush or in the least, a trap. As Yu approached the stairs with his cohorts behind him, he looked to the first step as he prepared himself for another climb of the stairs.

But suddenly, thin purple pillars erupted from the ground at the foot of the stairs that fenced itself between the stairs and the Persona-users, halting them in their tracks with startled expressions. Yu had attempted to expect the unexpected up until now, and letting his guard down so soon made him think very typically of it; this was more like it for him. _"I knew it...!"_ Yu thought to himself out of shock.

Everyone quickly turned their heads towards the previous set of stairs, only to find that those stairs were nowhere to be seen, and that they were presented with a solid wall instead of a way down. They all knew this was Fuuka's dungeon, and it didn't take a lot of thought to know that this was all Fuuka's doing; her Shadow's doing.

And lo and behold, everyone found Fuuka standing in the centre of the room as they turned round. But only she was standing there in the attire she was given; her Shadow was nowhere in sight, which brought the ominous feeling back into the atmosphere like a lingering odour. They all thought to approach her, but after examining her further, they just stood their ground where they were. Fuuka's expression was completely blank, and underwater motions that her hair and long scarves made suggested something far from normality; there was no way this was Fuuka.

"...Fuuka?" Yukari called to her after recovering from the low blow that the Shadow inflicted on her earlier. Fuuka didn't reply though, she just stood staring at the group with the same, disturbing, emotionless look.

Suddenly, Fuuka's arm was raised and a sharp finger was pointed towards the group with a vicious dart. Everyone flinched at the sudden and inhumanely speedy movement, and the panic started to rise when they had no one of what it meant. But as the loud sound of rumbling bursted out from the ceiling, they all looked up, and saw a horror from above.

Erupting from the ceiling came the counterpart of Juno, which gave a rapid stretch of its arms to surround the group from left to right. And quickly after, her arms began to rush towards everyone without any warning whatsoever. "Spread out!" Yu shouted in urgent command to everyone as he started running, giving them all the sign to do the same. Sprinting to safety, no one looked back in case it would slow them down. But shortly after, the sharp sound of a loud clapping of hands was heard from behind them, followed by the wind that was squeezed through the Shadow's fingers.

At this point, everyone was scattered across the battlefield with their weapons gripped tightly in anxiety and with concentration difficult to maintain. Rise felt the same, but desperately tried to bring her Persona out as soon as possible so that she would get the chance to scan the Shadow. With a click of the trigger, Kanzeon came to her aid and began her search for weaknesses.

"I have a bad feeling about this..." Rise muttered before giving her verdict, "...Okay. It...It looks like the bigger part of the Shadow is invincible...it's acting as some sort of guardian for her..." Just hearing the word 'invincible' made the situation seemed worse than it was.

BGM: Witchcraft - Pendulum / Master Of Tartarus - Persona 3 OST

But then there was worse still. "Wh...huh?! W-What's going on?!" she cried out, rising the distress to new heights for the rest of the group. As Rise looked through Kanzeon's lenses, the screen full of calculations and formulas started to turn fuzzy. The same static white noise that would normally show on the Midnight Channel was starting to take over Rise's vision, wiping all scanning frequencies and data intel from her mind."I can't find the weakness! She's malfunctioning my Persona's ability!" And with that, there was only one way to find out where the weakness lied. And that was to fight her.

"If you guys can distract her for a while, I can shake her off me and give you some support then!" Rise shouted her plan from across the room. It was the only plan they had after all, and Yu had no other choice but to follow her theory.

Nodding to her, Yu looked back to the Shadow to find that the complete set was right in front of him. Juno's counterpart and Fuuka's presence bottled up inside the crystal ball structure stood before them all. It was the innocent girl and the guardian of her true desire; a perilous combination.

"Right..." Yu responded, slowly drawing his Evoker from the holster whilst fixing his eyes on the Shadow, "...Obariyon!" Shouting the name of a Persona belonging to the Fool Arcana, Yu brought his Evoker to the side of his head, mashing the trigger with a rapid finger to bring about the first navy flames to fire up the battle. Out of those flames came the imp like creature with suction pads for its secret weapon, and with a colour scheme of a bright flamingo; Obariyon.

As soon as it was summoned, Obariyon sprinted up to the Shadow with all four limbs and gathered the strength in its back legs to jump towards Fuuka with a giant leap, homing in at an amazing speed that not even Yu could keep up with. And it didn't take long before the Persona could begin crawling around Juno's body. With every step the Persona took, the sound of suction popping was heard constantly. And after running around the Shadow's body for some time, Obariyon crawled to the back of Juno's head and covered her eyes with his front paws, immediately causing her hands to find the Persona with her witch-like hands.

"Sonic Punch!" Yu shouted in command to his Persona, who heeded the order with a mischievous grin and chuckle. With its arm raised, the Persona shrieked in growing power and even laughed during the process in a humorous manner. But before it could even land the attack, an unexpected Garudyne spell, called forth by a lift of Juno's head, came crashing down onto the Persona with a slice of razored wind that reduced it to a pixelated image that indicated the Persona's surprisingly early fatigue.

And as Yu returned Obariyon to his psyche, he gave another click of the trigger. "Come out, Odin!" he yelled another Persona's name, bringing forth the clocked figure with a golden helmet that resembled that of a viking's and purple skin that shone darker than the walls around him; Odin. With a commanding point of Yu's finger, Odin swung it's thick metal spear to call down the Panta Rhel spell onto the Shadow, hoping to do more damage than what the Shadow did with the Garudyne spell.

From one side of the room, a tidal wave of swirling green colours suddenly homed in on the Shadow with a thunderous and and powerful force that deafened the ears of those who heard the roaring that it made as it swooped across the room. The deadly wind attack, landed on Fuuka, only to find that the wind just absorbed into her Shadow's skin without any sign of effort to even avoid or flinch at the incoming attack. "Wind attacks aren't working!" Yu shouted to warn the others, especially those who specialise in wind-related attacks.

Even though Yu's experimentation managed to give them all an idea of what Fuuka was strong against, they had to bring Rise back into swing of things. And when Yu had a good look at the Shadow, he remembered the water that was swaying around in her crystal ball and knew exactly what to do. He looked towards Mitsuru, then Teddie and gave them the same look that indicated that he had a plan.

When the two nodded back to him, they began their sprint towards the Shadow with Evokers ready in their hands and eyes fixed on the target. Again, Fuuka just stood there in the centre of the battlefield, watching as the three ran up to her with their respective Personas brought out valiantly from their minds.

In front of Mitsuru came Artemisia. Kamui stood at Teddie's side. And before Yu was a Persona of the Temperance Arcana, Vishnu. And in an instant, the three Personas took their battle stances and made their signature movements to call on their disposal of spells.

But before anyone could make a move, Fuuka began to speak. _"Mitsuru-senpai..."_she called onto Mitsuru with discordant echoes vibrating throughout the battlefield, _"...what a reputation you have; continuing your father's legacy and traditions, who worked for a group that hungered for absolute knowledge. And he would've even led the world to ultimate destruction to accomplish a goal."_ Hearing those words coming from Fuuka was like a bitter pill that Mitsuru couldn't bear to swallow.

She couldn't believe what she was hearing, and yet she did. She even gave a look that suggested her fear when she heard how truthful Fuuka's words were. She even nearly lowered her Evoker before realising what she was doing, shaking her head to let the idea go.

Fuuka then looked towards Teddie. _"Teddie...an incarnation that of a Shadow. And still you feel so empty..."_she spoke again to the walking bear costume, watching his expression change from a courageous look to a shocked one, _"...you may be human on the inside, but like many humans...there is a big gaping hole inside you filled entirely with nothingness."_

Just hearing the whole story again was painful for Teddie to hear, especially when he found it to be somewhat true. "Why must you be so cruel, Fuuka-chan?! I'm over all that stuff now!" Teddie shouted defensively, hurt by Fuuka's reminder of his unusual existence.

Yu heard all of this happen and didn't approve any of it at all. But when he looked to both Mitsuru and Teddie, he could find that both of them were affected by the Shadow's taunts. "Guys, don't listen to her! She's only trying to lower your guard!" Yu shouted for the two, slowly bringing them back to their senses. With full concentration locked in on Fuuka, the three commanded their Personas with a raise of their hands, causing dynamic movements from all of them to call on their Mabufudyne spells.

Soon enough, the area around the Shadow was ridden with ice pillars and frozen shards that exploded on impact. But even with such a collective amount of damage the three were dealing to the Shadow, only a flinch from Juno was made, and only small scratches were inflicted on the crystal ball.

Fortunately though, after Juno's body spasm that indicated the taken hit, Rise started to fix her full concentration on Fuuka's biology to search for anything useful the second time round. Now that the partial damage had been inflicted on the Shadow, Rise's digital screen started to clear. And even though it wasn't fully clear, she could make out pretty well what Fuuka consisted of.

"Ah! I've got it now!" Rise shouted as she focused in on Juno's body, "The part that looks like Juno won't take damage. But it seems like it has a weakness to ice-related attacks! Good call on the Mabufudyne guys!" Yu wasn't fully convinced earlier on if his theory of freezing the water inside the crystal ball was true, but nonetheless a weakness was luckily found.

But it didn't take long before Rise's digital screen was robbed of her own data once again when the Shadow changed its focus on doing so. Again, everyone had to go about it blindly to try and find out for themselves. As Yu, Mitsuru and Teddie ran back to safety, Akihiko, Chie and Naoto stepped up with a plan they prepared to follow.

The three ran up to the Shadow with eyes targeted only on the crystal ball. "I'll keep the large one occupied!" Naoto shouted to the other two as she gave a click and load of her revolver gun, "It'll give you both time to fight through the glass!" Nodding to Naoto's plan, they stood before Fuuka with a keen eye out for any sudden movement from her.

The Shadow started speaking again. _"__You were always a person to never expose his weak side, Akihiko..."_Fuuka spoke with her new-found cynical tone, _"...but the truth is: no matter what strength you have, there will always be an underlying weakness deep down. And I can see that in you...your strength is just a cover-up from what other people may think of you...and from your yearning for the past."_It was happening again, and Akihiko shamefully found it to be true.

But then Fuuka looked over to Chie. _"__The will to protect people...and for what, Chie? What is the true purpose for it?" _the Shadow spoke again tauntingly, _"It wasn't for the lives of the people, was it? It was for the sake of your reputation...so __that everyone could look up to you as an awe-inspiring figure. Very vain of you." _Listening to this made Chie's face twist itself into a look of anger and detest, knowing that what Fuuka had said was undoubtably what Chie was feeling.

And then finally, the Shadow looked round to Naoto. _"The Ace-Detective. The Detective Prince. Just a couple of names that seem too mature for a child." _she bellowed, already giving Naoto a shock from the reminder of that time, _"You have an IQ greater than that of an average police detective, and still you are not accepted in an adult world. No one would believe the theories of a child, after all."_

Yu thought that Fuuka only did this to Mitsuru and Teddie just so she could taunt them. But after thinking over it, he came to another possibility. _"I remember Chie and Naoto having to face those problems...but how did Fuuka know? She's barely known us for about a week..." _he asked himself, getting an unexpected answer straight after, _"...is her ability allowing her to know of our problems?"_

"That may be true...but that's all behind us now!" Naoto yelled at the Shadow before beginning her sprint around its perimeter. As she did this, she shot continuous revolver bullets at Juno's head, and even though the shots she made only bounced off the Shadow's skin, they made for a great distraction.

Whilst Fuuka turned her full attention to Naoto's seemingly-pointless barrage of bullets, Chie began to bring to the plan to the next stage. The kung-fu expert took to the battlefield and sprinted towards the crystal ball, gathering the strength in her legs as she went.

And when she was just a short run away, she leapt off of one foot into the air and quickly diving in towards the glass with the other foot in front, causing her to inflict a powerful jumping-kick onto the crystal ball. But again, the attack didn't do much to weaken its structure, and Chie's kick only made her recoil upon impact. Fuelling herself with the anger she had for the Shadow, Chie found it in herself to unleash a fury of high-kicks and jump-kicks alike.

After a long while of doing this, Chie came to a realisation that physical attacks weren't working and, with a rapid swipe, pulled out her Evoker. As she brought the barrel to her head and pulled the trigger without hesitation, Suzuka Gongen materialised into view through the indigo aura with its double-sword brandished and its armour reflecting the gleaming navy colours it came out of.

Straight away, Chie and her Persona focused on leaving at least a crack on the glass and worked together to achieve this. Once more, Chie began her next wave of attacks, only this time with commands to Suzuka Gongen to slash and swipe its double-sword onto the glass with a power that no human could understand. A long while of doing this, eventually left a few minor cracks in the glass, and it was just in time before Naoto ran out of revolver bullets to carry on the distraction.

When the unfortunate happened, the Shadow turned back to Chie with a ferocious glare that even made her just freeze into place with a shock that restricted her from moving. As this happened, Suzuka Gongen returned to Chie's psyche and all she could do was just stand there with no idea of what to do. She watched as Juno's hands were lifted up with a vigorous shaking that suggested its growing strength, and the purple light that emitted from the palms of its hands told her something even worse.

But before Chie could move, Juno's hands were already hurtling down onto her with a strength that she and the group around her couldn't even imagine. Just in time though, Akihiko grabbed her by the collar of her green tracksuit jacket and yanked her backwards, away from the perilous impact that could've been enough to knock her unconscious.

Leaping away from the impact also, Akihiko made his counter-attack with a rapid click of the Evoker's trigger, bringing out Caesar from the depths of his mind. "Ziodyne!" Akihiko shouted in command to his Persona, causing Caesar to raise his sword and hold out his miniature globe to tap into its magical capabilities.

Shortly after, a deafening sound of thunder roared throughout the room that gave the cue to the flashing bolt of lightning that struck down immediately after onto the crystal ball. And more positively, because of the cracks that Chie and Akihiko made in the glass, the electricity that enveloped around the ball managed to slip through them to come into contact with the water that Fuuka's other Shadow body was resting in. This caused the electricity to run through the water and inflict Fuuka with thousands of volts that coursed through her Shadow flesh with a painful sting. Fuuka cried out with agony and utter suffering from the strong attack.

As the electricity began to die down, Fuuka's human-like body started to slouch into a hunched position. This in turn also made Juno's part of the Shadow slouch with her, as if to tell everyone that another weakness had been found. And as Kanzeon's ability allowed for Rise to see more clearly because of the lack of concentration from Fuuka, she could confirm it.

"Looks like you've found another one!" Rise called out to everyone, "So it looks like Juno is weak to ice and Fuuka has a weakness to electricity. Keep that in mind she is also strong to wind!" Finding that they have enough intel to move on, everyone nodded to Rise and began to think of what to do next.

Yu had one idea though, and it involved him, everyone else and all of their Personas. As he put the Evoker to the side of his head, he looked to the others to do the same, giving them a nod in addition. He watched everyone as they smiled to him, knowing what he was thinking as they took their own Evoker's out. In unison, the sound of triggers pulling echoes off the walls which made each of everyone's Personas face the Shadow with the same intention.

"Come on! All-Out Attack!" Yu shouted as he began his furious sprint, followed by everyone else with their Personas running and gliding with them to the centre of the room. For that moment, this attack was going to be the one that would end this battle, so they thought.

But before they could get anywhere near to Fuuka, the Shadow's heads shot back up and saw immediately what was coming to it. "Wait! Guys! Watch Out!" Rise shouted for everyone with no avail in doing so. And before anyone could get any closer to it, Juno and Fuuka tilted their heads back and let out an ear-punishing scream that stopped everyone in the tracks to hold their ears in pain. Slowly after, a shockwave that was formed by the shrieks, burst out from the Shadow's body and put a massive force of everyone's bodies that launched them away from Fuuka. Fortunately, the shockwave didn't deal any damage, but their chance for an early victory was snatched away from them.

Picking themselves and helping each other up to their feet, they stood their ground once more and thought carefully for what the next move would be. There were some that thought that there was no time at all to think, and those people were Junpei, Kanji and Ken. Junpei had his Evoker at the ready, Kanji held out his blunt shield weapon, and Ken brandished his spear with a will as great as the two people standing with him.

But again, Fuuka was there to break them down with more words. _"Well, Junpei..." _the Shadow called for Junpei with a devious sneer, _"...the hero who craves recognition...though also a slacker who has no control at all over his future. It's because you have no motivation to strive for an achievement that makes you so stuck in life."_

Like the others before him, he found what Fuuka said to be true, but at the same time wasn't having any of it. He raised his double-handed sword, taking a stance in the way that a batter in a baseball match would stand. "Harsh words, Fuuka. Harsh words."Junpei replied, beginning his difficult run with a heavy weapon towards Fuuka's glass ball, preparing himself to swing at any given moment.

As he stood in front of the glass, he held the sword behind him to gather strength before swinging. But just when he was to make his heavy attack that could've possibly broke the glass, in the middle of his vertical slash, Juno grabbed the blade of his sword. And since Junpei showed no intention of letting go of it, Juno lifted him up from the ground, rendering him hanging helpless.

Whilst Junpei was yelling and shouting for the Shadow to put him down, Fuuka turned her attention to Ken._ "Ah, poor little Ken..." _she scoffed with a tone that seemed genuine yet mocking at the same time, _"...a little boy who would risk his own innocence to become a delinquent; to kill someone of a crime that was really a misunderstanding, even when that person was his friend. Shame you couldn't exact your revenge."_

"Y-You can't make me look to the past!" Ken shouted to the Shadow, having a slight guilt towards the fact that he was shouting at Fuuka, "Now let go of Junpei!" Commanding with stern, Ken knew that the Shadow wasn't going to heed it, and so made his way forward to make his own attack on Fuuka.

When he was about a short distance in front of the crystal ball, Ken stabbed his spear in the ground with the tip of his blade and used the weapon like the long, flexible pole that a athlete would use in a pole-vaulting event. As he gained height up to the point where he was at his highest, he pulled the spear from the ground and made a jumping-kick similar to Chie's, aiming for Juno's head.

Suddenly, the other hand of Juno grabbed his leg when he was just right in between the eyes, and the Shadow pulled him away from the body, hanging him from his tightly-gripped ankle with no option of escaping. Ken tried to redeem himself by trusting his spear into the Shadow's arm, but because of his short height, he couldn't reach it despite having such a long weapon.

All that was left of the three was Kanji, who the Shadow looked down upon. _"So caught up by what people think of you, aren't you Kanji?" _the Shadow asked Kanji with a painful reminder, already making him blush radiantly just by forcing him to stick his mind on it, _"So embarrassed and shamed by other people's opinions of you...and it even pressured you into becoming something like a bully..."_

Everything Fuuka had said bothered Kanji to a great extent, but the last thing she said provoked a great burning rage in him. "What'd you say?!" Kanji yelled, shaking his fist into the air in an attempt to intimidate the Shadow, "That may be true, but you don't have to go and make me remember it! Sorry Fuuka, but this is for my pride and self-esteem!" And with that, Kanji made his furious sprint towards the Shadow with his blunted shield tucked under his arm, yelling at the top of his lungs as he charged on.

The Shadow saw this, and since both of Juno's hands were occupied, the only thing it could do was rely on its magical abilities to put Kanji off course. As Kanji made his way, multiple Magarudyne spells were called on, both in places where Kanji was running, and in places where he would run in to.

But with the aid of his anger and agitation, Kanji managed to dodge, duck and roll his way out of the range of the many wind attacks that couldn't even touch him because of how ticked off he was. And because of this failure from the Shadow, Kanji managed to reach the glass ball to unleash a powerful pelt of his shield that hurtled towards it.

Surprisingly, even though his weapon was not at all sharp in any way, the shield, upon impact, managed to make a fairly large crack in the glass, which made the Fuuka inside the ball flinch when the crack marks were made. That was only the first stage of his retaliation though.

When he picked his shield up from the floor, he jumped up onto the top of the crystal ball and looked straight into Juno's eyes, as if making another try to intimidate the Shadow. He then held his shield to the side of him to prepare for another slash, but instead of making his swing straight away, he waited for his tarot card to appear in front of him our of the blue glow.

When the card appeared before him, he swung his shield to break it. And as soon as he heard the smashing of glass, Rokuten Maoh appeared from behind the Shadow with its flame-designed sword gripped in its metallic hand. Fuuka was completely unaware of this happening, and so was Juno. "Now, Rokuten Maoh!" Kanji shouted to his Persona with a mock impression of an army salute to Juno, jumping off of the crystal ball and running to safety so that the Persona could make its move.

Kanji couldn't tell if the Shadow was in any way confused or surprised, but it didn't matter to him, because he had the element of surprise right behind the Shadow. The Persona brought up its sword, and soon enough, it was brought back down again. But just in time, Juno looked behind itself and managed to avoid the attack, which only left the attack to be inflicted on the crystal ball.

But even so, when the attack landed, it not only caused a huge crack to appear in the glass, but the large vibration in the water caused Fuuka inside the glass to flinch with an agonising recoil that made Juno do the same. This also made Juno lose its grip on Junpei and Ken, and they both safely made it back to the ground, freely running back to safety.

The next three to make their moves were Yosuke, Yukiko, and Koromaru, who stepped forward when the previous three returned to their positions. Yosuke was ready for anything, and knowing that Fuuka has the ability to taunt people into a fight using the knowledge of their problems, he had already been reminded about his lingering problem twice; if there won't be a third time lucky, he will definitely be in trouble. Koromaru held his Kunai knife in his jaws and digging his paws into the ground for extra grip. And Yukiko brandished her fan with a flick of her wrist, standing in her elegant battle stance.

The Shadow knew who was about to go next, seeing as Yosuke was placing his headphones over his ears and that the three were taking out their weapons when everyone else was just standing still. This was yet another opportunity for Fuuka to draw her 'opponents' into a turmoil.

"_Who are your friends to you, Yosuke?" _she asked Yosuke, watching him as his look changes from confident to shock and denial, as if he knew what she was going to say to him, _"If I took away your 'friends', would you feel devastated for them? Or devastated because of your loneliness? ...Because of how insecure you will be? Are they really your friends, or just people that make you look good?"_

There was some truth in what Fuuka said, but Yosuke knew that it was only true a long time ago. _"I used to think that. But don't go telling me who my friends are and who aren't! I've got my friends right here!" _Yosuke replied with some courage returning to him. But he didn't want to make the same mistake Junpei and Ken did, so he just stood back for a while so he could think of how to deal with the situation.

Meanwhile, Fuuka looked to Koromaru. _"Such a loyal dog, waiting for his master to return to the shrine...but does even a dog know what death is? Dogs themselves never know that they could even die. Do they even have a purpose in life?" _Fuuka asked not only to the canine, but to the others around him as if she thought that even Koromaru couldn't reply. But he did, and it was with a nasty and beastly growl.

And then, the Shadow turned to Yukiko. _"Like a bird in a cage..." _she said in a cruel and cold tone, _"...your whole life is prison; taking on responsibilities that you cannot cope with. And because of it, you are a burden on those around you...you need their help constantly to keep you from breaking down...you can't do anything on your own..."_

"You're not wrong, but you're not right either..." Yukiko retaliated, "...I do rely on others, but I know my friends. They are there for me no matter what, and I always try my very best to help them as well even if it wasn't much in the end!" Yukiko may have said this in confidence, but inside, she felt uneasy and worried by Fuuka's truthful analysis.

Despite this though, Yukiko made the first attack of the three and brought Amaterasu out with a rapid shot of the Evoker and raised an arm in command her Persona to dive in towards the Shadow. Travelling at a blinding speed, Amaterasu circled around Fuuka, dropping Agidyne spells from overhead like they were miniature bomb explosives that flared brilliant shapes of the fire upon impact. Some landed, and some were expertly dodged by the Shadow, but the burns and and singes dealt on the Shadow made up for the unsuccessful landings of attacks.

Suddenly, Juno sank into the ground through a devilish red pool that instantly struck fear in those who watched it happen. It may have been quiet, but the uncomfortable ominous feeling didn't settle well with the others, theorising as to what will happen. But after a while, the answer lied beneath Yukiko's feet.

The same pool that acted like the Shadow's portal ability erupted from underneath Yukiko, and with no warning, an witch-like hand sprouted from the blood-red puddle and grabbed her with a tight adjustment of its fingers that restricted her of making any movement to escape. She was immediately pulled in, and in a split-second another portal appeared from behind the glass crystal ball, instantly revealing the Shadow when it rose up from it with Yukiko as it's captive.

Koromaru reacted to this and used the strength in all four legs to make his sprint around the Shadow, acting as a scampering bait to draw the Shadow away so that he could distract Fuuka from everyone else, including Yosuke who was the next part of Koromaru's plan.

Running with the Shadow's gaze fixed on him, he led Fuuka's eyes round to the back of the room, turning Juno and Fuuka's part of the Shadow round towards the hound, facing its back towards Yosuke. Koromaru was slightly worried about the Shadow's slow movement towards him, but calmed himself by tilting his head and using one back leg to scratch behind his ear with his itch disappearing satisfyingly.

Knowing this was his chance, Yosuke took to the battleground and made his run as swift as possible since Koromaru was in danger of being cornered by Fuuka. With his kunai knives were gripped in his inverted grasp, he made a giant leap forward towards the glass ball and raised his arms into the air, preparing to thrust the knives into the freshly-made cracks as he concentrated on his balance in the air.

Yosuke did this as quietly as possible, but suddenly Fuuka's body in the crystal ball darted her head round to the airborne Junes sales assistant. At first, Yosuke didn't know how she was able to notice him from the absolute silence he made whilst running, but this only made him lose his balance in the air and had to go for the attack as best as he could.

Unfortunately, when he dealt his attack, he completely missed the cracks that were already made and stuck his knives in parts where there were no cracks. This may have weakened the glass by a small fraction because of the new splits he made in it, but this put him into trouble; the knives were stuck in place.

After the first tug, Yosuke tried his every effort to pull his weapons out from the glass. He even tried to yank them out by using the strength in his legs when he was pushing them against the glass for a bigger force. "Dammit! Why now?!" Yosuke shouted rhetorically, only blowing his cover further as he watched Juno quickly turn its body round to him.

Shortly after, Yosuke's tugging became weaker and weaker just by staring at the tower Shadow with fear. And worse still, he could see a familiar dark design appearing around him like an ancient pentagram. The only twist was that the outlines of the ring were frothing and spewing with a dark purple mist that made him realise what the danger was if he was the stay in its range. It would be an instant-kill from the Mudoon spell. But just as he let go of the knives to get to safety, the spell was already at its peak of power. At this point, Yosuke thought he was done for.

Fortunately though, there was a miraculous yank of his sleeve by something that felt like he was being pulled away by a set of jaws. And after leaping out of the range of the Shadow's attack, Yosuke could see that it was Koromaru who saved him from the life-death situation.

Falling to the floor, Yosuke watched as the pup summoned his Persona, Cerberus with the help of his custom dog collar Evoker, covering his ears from the loud howl that the dog made during this moment. The Persona ran forward on its pitchforked legs and leapt onto the crystal ball, jabbing its sharp toes into the glass to make more weakening cracks into it.

Since Juno had a reasonably large gap between it and Fuuka, Cerberus saw the opportunity to make another wave of Maragidyne spells onto Juno's body. With each explosion and with each burn inflicted, Juno's grip on Yukiko became looser and looser until its hand was completely relaxed, freeing her so that she could run back to safety.

When the large pelt of attacks ended, Yosuke was saw the opportunity to have another shot at claiming his knives back, which after one last huge tug made him successful. He urged Koromaru to follow him back to the safety zone with the fear that he would get another Mudoon attack on him if he stayed on the battlefield for too long.

Aigis was the next one who took a stand against the Shadow, beginning her athletic standard running ability to home in towards the Shadow. From what she had seen with the others before, she didn't want her own guard to be put down by the mention of personal problems. So instead, she immediately went for the kill.

As she held her arms up towards the glass ball, the scope in her eyes that allowed her to place the aiming symbol on Fuuka's safety barrier confirmed her target. And as her metallic arms shifted and whirred the gatling guns into their positions. Soon enough, she let out an open fire, making the group around her cover their ears because of the amount of rounds and decibels that were being shot at the Shadow in a continuous and merciless manner.

This continued for a long time before there were no more bullets left to use, and looking back at the glass, the many rounds Aigis pounded into it didn't seem to do much. If it did anything, it increased the sizes of the cracks that were made previously, and there were many scratches that were caused by the bullets.

Fuuka and Juno's bodies turned to Aigis, as if in mockery at her attempt to break the glass. _"The humanoid robot with human emotions...how does it feel to have a heart? Painful? Hurtful? Devastated?" _the Shadow uttered to the mechanical girl, _"And you have found your answer to life...but was that answer worth __understanding? With a heart of a human comes sadness, struggle and suffering. __Why choose to suffer than to not suffer at all?"_

Aigis thought her words to be valid, but unlike the others before her, she couldn't bring herself to believe in it. It was true that she suffered great losses in the past, but those times took place years ago. And hearing this from someone else's Shadow felt to her as if she was being told this by her own Shadow. It was a horrible feeling that most of the people around her knew too well to not sympathise with her. She was completely at a loss for words; it was just too much to take in for something that was said so briefly.

"Aigis, look out!" shouted a voice from her side. As Aigis turned towards the source, she found Yukari running up to her with her bow & arrow, unexpectedly being abruptly pushed by her to the floor. As she landed on her back Aigis looked to Yukari, she saw her standing in the middle of what seemed to be a Garudyne attack as an act of protecting her.

But just as the attack was being dealt, Yukari hastily drew her Evoker and brought the barrel to her forehead with both hands, pulling the trigger with a rapid twitch of her finger to bring out Isis through the sound of smashing glass and the soothing feeling of the azure flames, to protect her from the wind attack which she is especially accustomed to. When the attack eventually landed, Isis was already there to effortlessly block it from bringing any harm to its host.

Immediately dismissing the Persona afterwards, Yukari placed the Evoker back into the holster and took her bow & arrow out, running around the Shadow as she did this. One by one in a consecutive and continuous pace, she shot her arrows with expertise and the vast amount of experience she had with her archery club, managing to pierce through the glass of the crystal ball with every shot. But they only stuck themselves in the cracks that they made and even made other cracks weaker; none of them went straight through.

Yukari repeated this for some time before she ran out of ammunition. She then resorted to her Evoker and brought Isis back onto the battlefield once more and commanded with an urgent dart of her finger to call on a Garudyne spell on the crystal ball, in the hope that it will destroy the glass with the help of the arrows that were the very thing that would surely make the ball collapse upon Yukari's landed attack.

Unexpectedly though, when Isis called forth the wind attack, Juno appeared in front of the crystal ball with a quick move of its torso that went through the glass like it had the transparency of a ghost. Being part of the Shadow that could absorb wind-related attack, Juno just stood there, taking in the energy that Yukari intended for Fuuka with no expression of effort whatsoever.

"_Always putting what's precious to you before anyone else, Yukari..." _Fuuka said to Yukari was Juno's body turned to her with the last of the wind soaking into its skin, _"...you never cared for anyone else. Just Minato; the one who passed away from us two years ago. It's as if you care more for the dead than for the living. Do the friends that you still have mean nothing to you? Would you weep for any of them if they died like you did with him?"_

Again, like Aigis did, Yukari just wanted to ignore it. But with how real it all sounded to her, every shake of her head meant nothing; she desperately didn't want to believe it, but the thought of Minato when Fuuka mentioned him made it all the more harder to go against the Shadow's words. She placed herself in an awkward and worrisome condition where she can't deny nor accept the statement she was given.

She was left speechless, and with every attempt to say even a word only came out with stammers and stutters. A look of shock and hopelessness clung to her face with a tremble in her hands that travelled up her arms, then her body, then her legs. She was truly petrified.

_"Yukari! She's playing mind tricks on you! Don't take notice of her!"_ Rise shouted for her, just barely getting through to her with the limited power that she was restricted to by the fault of the Shadow's own ability. It wasn't much, but as soon as Yukari heard her, she quickly snapped out of it, looking behind her to find a safe spot to run to.

As she did, she found Yu running across the battlefield with his Evoker gripped in his hand ready for right moment to use it. And when that time came, he pointed it to the side of his lobe and pulled the trigger with a vicious finger, bringing out Izanagi from his mind and running with it towards the Shadow. "That's enough, Fuuka!" Yu shouted at the Shadow with his brandished katana, causing Izanagi to do the same with its own hefty arcane sword.

After making their way on foot, the host and Persona leapt up into the air in unison. And when they were both at the peak of their height, they pointed their weapons towards the Shadow as they came back down like torpedoes that would make a large impact upon landing their hit.

When the climax was set, their swords came in for the blow, stabbing into the glass in the hope that it would inflict some damage onto the the Shadow inside. But even though the attack was successful, none of the blades could touch Fuuka, and even more unfortunately, both of the swords were completely stuck in the cracks. With every attempt Yu tried to pull the weapon out, it didn't budge; it was completely stuck, and he even had to resort to kicking the glass due to his judging on the large amount of cracks that looked as if the glass should be smashing.

Yu looked up to find Juno. But the only thing he found were the sharp claws that belong to the Shadow swiping across Izanagi's face. And as this happened, a somewhat expected pain suddenly came onto the side of Yu's face, recoiling the same was as Izanagi did as if he felt the same agony his Persona did. Upon feeling that pain, he watched as Izanagi was returned to his psyche in an disturbing image of pixelation.

Slightly dizzy from the attack, Yu fell off of the crystal ball and left onto his back to recover. He held the pain on his cheek, expecting to feel the scars that the Shadow made on him. But he then remembered; since the pain was dealt on his Persona, the feeling was merely made in the mind.

"_Yu Narukami..." _Fuuka spoke as Juno towered over him, _"...a friend of all and a saviour in the eyes of everyone he meets. The bonds you create give you a power greater than what you start with...but what happens if those bonds were broken?" _As soon as he was asked this, he gave a look of anger that hid his true feeling of fear, trying not to listen to her discorded voice that he could not help but heed. _"Without your friends, you are weak. And you remember that so well from the last time you left them. The case was over, the investigation ended, and it was finally time to go home. You were all alone...and soon you will be all on your own again, leaving your friends behind once more and hoping that the distance won't be too painful to endure..."_

"No...you can't make me think that...I-I'm not alone!" Yu shouted back to the Shadow as he picked himself up to his feet, reaching for his Evoker as an act of getting his own back. But then suddenly, a sinking feeling came from under his feet and he noticed that the ground beneath him rising up to his waist.

Then as he looked down to his feet, he couldn't see them at all, for there was that familiar blood-red pool that was dragging him into a portal. And after a sudden moment that completely dropped him into him, the startled gasp nearly choked him.

The next he knew, he couldn't breathe and his eyesight was reduced to nothing but a blurry vision; even a stinging sensation strained his eyes every time he blinked. But the very thing that made it clear where he was, was that he had a sensation of floating underwater. He was inside the crystal ball, in the water with no room for air.

Suddenly and frighteningly, a set of hands grabbed him by the throat and squeezed his windpipe, strangling him in an area where he was sure to be done for if he wasn't quick enough to get out. As soon as he turned round out of utter shock, he saw a blurry Fuuka, laughing manically as she tried to choke him to a potential death. Yu desperately tried to shake Fuuka off, but the more he squirmed the tighter the grip she was putting on his adam's apple. _"No, Yu-kun! She's drowning him! Get rid of that glass now!" _Rise cried out in the upmost urgency, feeling powerless herself to even do anything.

Everyone immediately reacted to this and summoned their Personas out for another All-Out Attack that they thought to be the very thing that will free Yu from the glass prison. But when Juno saw the stampede of friends coming towards it, both of its arms were raised into the air. And in its hands collected a bright light that surged into its fingertips from palm to nail.

"_Oracle!" _the Shadow shouted out as it threw the ball of light into the air, watching as it calmly entered the battlefield with a deadly purpose behind its gentle appearance. As it landed in front of everyone, an explosion of a brilliant light bursts from the ground, causing a wave of fatigue to befall upon everyone, knocking them to the ground with one gigantic hit.

Their Personas were withdrawn from the battlefield back to the minds of the exhausted, and as they were all close to unconsciousness, the hope of saving Yu from drowning was becoming dim and near to devastating.

Watching his friends collapse to the floor, Yu used every bit of effort to worm his way out of Fuuka's grasp and even tried to throw a few fists at her as a last resort. But his time was running out, and his eyelids were already started to slowly drop. His lungs grew heavy inside his ribcage, and the air supply he had in him started to put a huge strain on them, like he had been punched in the chest repeatedly until he was winded. He desperately needed air, but the only chances he had of escaping were taken away.

Soon enough, his struggle to break free began to make demands on his body. And then it reached the point when he couldn't fight her off anymore; the lack of air made him fall into a daze, and then shortly after that his muscles relaxed to numbness. He was edging ever closer to his watery grave.

Then all of a sudden. "No more!" Yu heard a muffled voice from outside the glass and used everything he had to left just to open his eyes to the source of where it came from.

Beyond the distorted cracks, he could see a figure from afar, and judging by the mechanical limbs, he knew it to be Aigis. And then shortly after, a Persona with armour of a gladiator sprouted from the azure glow. But the thing that made his eyes widen even more was when the Persona's spear was aimed directly towards him, making a drilling noise as it dived in towards the surface of the glass.

Then almost unexpectedly, the drilling spear came into contact with the cracks, causing the cracks around Yu to widen larger and larger, and just the sight of it brought some hope back into him even though his lungs started to give way.

A short, painful moment later, the sound Yu wanted to hear finally rang in his ears. The sound of smashing glass was as glorious as heaven, and as it happened, the water around him started to flood out. But even so, he was a slight second away from passing out, or to its extreme form, passing away.

But as the glass separated more and more, Fuuka's grip started to loosen in accordance with the loss of water as it began to flow out faster, until Yu was finally only neck up to water, finally being able to breathe again. As he rushed out with the current of the water, he took a giant inhale through his choked windpipe whilst his floppy body laid on the ground, soaked and completely numb from feeling. He didn't want to notice at the time, but when this was happening, a cry of agony was heard from the Shadow as the water continued to pour out.

"Yu-kun, are you alright?!" asked the urgent voice that Yu definitely knew to be Aigis's voice. Yu tried to open his eyes, but the large coughing fits he had at the time were preventing him from doing so since the force of each cough were painful enough to keep them shut.

But after a long time of emptying his lungs of water that managed to get in, he was free to open his eyes with some sting still left and looked in front of him, finding Aigis; the person who saved. And shortly after everyone else who was worried to the core rushed to him, asking him the same question Aigis asked him. Rise was the most worried; she was even nearly driven to tears after being affected by the overwhelming relief of seeing her lover alive after losing him to an early grave.

"That's fine...just scare us to death why don't you...!" Yosuke said jokingly to his drenched partner, relieved as anyone else around him to see him alive. When Yu coughed the last of the water out, he turned to him and cast his eyes to everyone else who were worried for him. "Well, see if you can beat that guys. See if you can hold your breath underwater as long as I can." he replied with a joke of his own, instantly bringing everyone's spirits back up.

As he looked around to his friends, he looked back to what Fuuka said to him; about his friends. He found it true that his friends were the source of his power. It always had been. But when he looked back on the part when the Shadow said that even distance could make him weak, he contradicted. Bonds cannot be broken that simply; not even the circumference of the earth could break his bonds. Virtually nothing can.

"Aigis..." Yu called for the robotic saviour as he turned his head to her, "...thank you." It may not have been much, but Aigis could tell that he meant it. Her help could've been the difference between life and death for him after all.

"No, thank you...for not drowning that is..." Aigis replied, and even though it was bluntly put, Yu couldn't help but chuckle, "...if it hadn't been for my Orgia Mode, we could've feared for the worst. It was strange though, I shouldn't even have Orgia Mode anymore. Maybe it was because of my intention to save you...it felt as if I was trying to save Minato again." Yu understood her perfectly; he was compared to Minato a couple of times in the past even when he didn't think he could even be compared to the sort of person.

Everyone helped their leader up to their feet, and some had to support him since his body was still in its fragile state. Then they all looked towards the Shadow, which by then had already reduced to nothing but an evaporating darkness that resembled the form of Fuuka. Next to its weak, lying body was the real Fuuka, who was knelt down to her knees with her head lowered to the floor.

Surprisingly, the shattered remains of the glass crystal ball was nowhere to be seen, along with the corrupted Juno. It was as if nothing had happened at all. Although for Yu, it was hard to think that nothing occurred after having gone through a near-death experience.

They all made their way over to her as quickly as they could whilst supporting Yu's weight as they went. And when they grouped around her, they bent down to her, checking for any serious injuries that they might have caused. But with a quick examination, they were glad to see that the only thing she suffered from was exhaustion.

Fuuka was huffing and puffing with an unsteady pace of her breathing, and noticing this, Yu knelt to her level trying to look for her hidden face. She then slowly lifted her head up to him, looking into his red bloodshot eyes to look at the amount of damage she caused to her leader. "Yu?" she asked him, not noticing at first by the colour of his eyes, "Oh God, what have I done?!"

As Fuuka cupped her mouth in her hands, Yu stopped her from thinking such things with a friendly hand on her shoulder. He leaned closer to her. "Fuuka, Fuuka..." he said with a calm tone, trying to stop the tears from forming in her eyes, "...this was none of your doing...this was your Shadow's. Whatever happened here was not your fault." Just hearing this made Fuuka believe in Yu's words; she always knew, from the first day, that he was someone who was honest and never someone to lie to anyone's face. Fuuka didn't want to at first, but she nodded to Yu, knowing that she was thinking pessimistically on the fight that she had no control over.

"Your Shadow's still here..." Yu spoke in the silence, "...we worn her out for you...but only you have the power to end it once and for all. Now go...face yourself." Fuuka knew that what Yu had told her to do would be a difficult task to do; she even watched others in her group to do the same. But now it was her turn to face her demons. Shuffling herself to where her Shadow laid, she helped it up to her fragile knees, holding its shoulders to support it.

"If I'm honest...I always knew that I had a Shadow somewhere in me. I did sometimes think of wanting authority, and more power than I do now...but it so turns out that those were the qualities of someone that I wanted to be, but to never show...a bully..." she began, stroking away the strands of hair that covered the Shadows face, "...you are me. The 'me' I didn't want to take notice of...but now I know the 'me' I should be. Not to be a bully so I can get my own way, but to be someone who can work up to acquire those qualities without harming anyone. Thank you...thank you for showing me..."

As one last gesture of truly facing herself, Fuuka wrapped her arms around her 'other' self with a genuine purpose. The Shadow sank its head into her shoulder as if it was on the verge of weeping. "Th-Thank you..." the other Fuuka muttered before the rate of evaporating darkness began to speed up.

A short while later, the Shadow's body began to turn to dust, riding from Fuuka's arms into the passing-by wind that carried it away into nothingness. Seeing this gave Fuuka a strengthened resolve, and as she looked back to the others, they all gave her a sign of approval using thumbs-ups and meaningful nods of the head.

They all helped her up to her feet, and as if by coincidence, the spirited image of Natsuki that everyone saw before the Shadow became berserk, stood before them with her usual stance of placing one hand on her hip with an informal slouchy posture. Although this body language suggested a moody disposition, the smile on the spirit's face suggested something else.

"Natsuki-chan!" Fuuka called her name as she ran up to her with a sudden energy in her legs. From the distance the two were conversing from, it was just too hard to hear what they were saying.

During this time, everyone took the opportunity to have a small discussion about the topic that confused them from the very start of this operation. "I'm kinda lost here..." Junpei said with a scratch of his head, "...last time I checked Fuuka got a call from Natsuki only a few hours ago. Isn't it only that dead people show up here?" It may have been informally and thoughtlessly put, but everyone was just as confused as he was, and it was worth answering now rather than later.

"There's so much we don't know about the spirits that appear here..." Naoto spoke her thoughts, "...going by what we know, this world creates whatever is in one's own mind. And because of that...the spirits are personified desires. But if Fuuka's desired spirits is someone who is still alive..."

"...and if some of the spirits we wanted to see were of people who have passed away..." Yu continued on where Naoto left off, "...then we can't say that the spirits are created just because they aren't alive anymore...the spirits must be desires created from a sort of nostalgia..."

"The spirits are of people others miss?" Ken asked, finding it a more plausible answer, "Well, it seems to make more sense that way."

"We've never really talked about this before...but thinking about it now, I feel like we're getting somewhere," Chie spoke, but then suddenly finding another piece of information that she probably knew wouldn't be of use. But she said it anyway. "but...the Midnight Channel couldn't have done this all on its own. Those two boys...are they the ones creating the spirits?"

As soon as Chie said this, everyone looked to her with gobsmacked expressions; looks which she found to be a common thing whenever she says something clever. "On the money again, huh?" she asked rhetorically, thinking that what she said wasn't much of a big deal to consider.

But they worried about it for some other time since the answer came quite easily that time. Now though, they looked towards the two conversing friends, finding that the talk between them was finally over. Soon after, Natsuki's transparent body slowly broke away into small light particles that swirled around like dust in a whirlwind, which soon subsided and then became swept away by a gentle warm breeze. As the powdered light travelled into the distance, it shone in the sky like the stars, possibly even brighter than the ones in the real world. Even so, the shimmering of those stars were comforting to look at, especially for Fuuka who fixed her eyes on the TV world sky as she walked back to the group.

"Ready to go back?" Akihiko asked Fuuka with a smile, acknowledging her courage to face the person she never wanted to meet. She nodded with nothing but a smile on her tiresome face. "Yeah, let's go home." she said, not being able to stop her grinning. And with that, they walked with each other back to studio in the hope that the long trek ahead of them won't tire them out more than what they were feeling then.

The operation that night was tough and somewhat emotional, but now their main goal was just to get back to the surface, and more importantly to their beds, for the night ahead of them will be long since they will be introduced once again to the Dark Hour. Though for most of them, having an extra hour of sleep, even if it did present as a difficult problem, wasn't that bad.

**And there we have it! MY GOD that was long! This chapter is nearly twenty-six pages...that's the longest chapter I've ever written. Quite a rare moment for me! Anyway, keep reading and reviewing. And I will think of plans for the next chapter! CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Margaret: You both look exhausted. The ordeal you faced tonight was brutal._

_Elizabeth: Fighting your friends... in what cruel mind did this idea flourish from?_

_Igor: How can I be of service to you?_

_Aigis: Is it possible to... well... give back the Wild-Card?_


	28. A Power That Doesn't Belong

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Twenty-Eight_

_A Power That Doesn't Belong_

**Why hello there you beautiful people! Welcome to the twenty-eighth chapter! If you're reading this announcement right now, you have probably already recovered from the long reading from last chapter. It was really tedious just writing it! But getting some good feedback for it made it all the more worthwhile. Thank you all so much for that! Before I start the chapter, I hope you have all had a Happy Halloween and I hope that you all got mountains of candy! And now...LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0807 - Dark Hour - The Real World_

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><p>From the TV world and into the Dark Hour; two worlds that have suddenly collided since the day before, and just looking at the familiar colour scheme on the walls, floors and the outside world, it didn't feel like they ever left the TV world at all. It was as if they placed in a world of Shadows wherever they were. The only difference was the horrendous rain that continued to fall, and even ridiculous thoughts of a drowning Iwatodai were strangely pictured in their heads. Though when Yu thought of it, it just made him think back to the recent operation. He didn't want to think about drowning.<p>

Yet again, the exhaustion kicked in at the right time and looking back on the long walk they made just to get back to the dorm, the first thing on their minds was just one word; 'bed'. And as they all made their way to their rooms, they spent their last bit of energy on power-walking with a pace that made them impatient no matter how fast they were walking.

Yu felt the most sluggish having already been soaked during the fight against a difficult Shadow, and even the slight squelches in his shoes made his toes colder and colder as he walked towards the top of the stairs that he needed to walk down to get to his door. But as he placed his hand on the banister, another hand took him gently by the shoulder.

"Yu? Are you not feeling well?" asked a voice of concern from behind him. Before he could turn to face the person conversing with him, he already knew that the voice belonged to Rise. As he faced his exhausted body towards her, the little strength he had barely allowed him to raise his head slightly up to her. He tried his best to keep his coughs internal. "It's nothing serious...should be just a cough or a cold," Yu croaked in reply, giving a reassuring smile to Rise, "I just need a shower and some rest. Then I'll be better before you know it."

Rise may have seemed worried for him after what she had witnessed, but she knew him more than anyone else and always knows that he he is right. Yu was a smart individual; he would know the right medicine to cure himself without a pharmacist needing to tell him. So Rise forced a smile for him and brought his head down to her so that she could give him a peck of her lips on his wet forehead.

"Alright then..." Rise said as she stared into his inflamed eyes, "...I hope you get better soon. Goodnight, senpai..." And as she gave her farewell to him, she gave him another peck on his cheek before turning around to head for her own room.

After having walked down the stairs, Yu made his way to his door, refraining from coughing any more than he did on the way back to the surface. Upon opening his door with a turn of the doorknob, he had his eyes on the door that led to the bathroom, locking the door behind him and heading straight for the style-advanced shower that waited for him.

His body was cold upon entering the air of the bathroom, but after turning the taps in the shower, the warm steamy air that floated from the running water acted like a sauna on Yu's body. And after standing under the water, it made it all the more better, feeling the heat of the water surge through his body like a fast-working remedy. The aches in his muscles were slowly being treated by the warmth, and the goosebumps on his skin that were caused by the drench were instantly gone when the water came into contact with him.

"_Hmm, that's funny..." _Yu spoke in his mind, coming to a sort of realisation, _"...are showers meant to work during the Dark Hour? Or is it another one of the Kirijo Group's technological instalments? ...Well, as long as I get nice and warm for the night, I shouldn't think too much on it. Just enjoy the shower, Yu." _And with that, he shrugged off his curiosity.

As he got out of the shower and dried himself off with the towel provided for him, he quickly put on a fresh set of pyjamas, feeling the crisp texture of his shirt with a pleasurable comfort. The slippers he brought with him were a great addition to that feeling on his toes that were close to frostbitten before he jumped into the shower.

Opening the door into the main part of his room, he watched as the steam of the hot water glided past him with a grace that almost made him forget that it was still midnight; even the dull colours outside were ignored before he realised it. The remedial effect of the soothing shower made him forget everything on the outside of the dorm, including its horrors and the drastic change in landscape.

The last thing he wanted to do was to just lie on his bed, and as he walked up to it, he placed his thoroughly soaked clothing into a nearby laundry basket and placed his Evoker and holster on his bedside table near where his lamp was. As he laid down in his bed under the covers and turning off the light with a flick of a switch, he relaxed himself with a deep breath of exhaustion, turning his head towards the window.

But as he did this, he found the real Tartarus standing tremendously in the distance, towering over Iwatodai as its unknown, unseen landmark. And strangely, just looking at it reminded Yu of the Tartarus he had to travel through to find Fuuka, remembering how he found the black-hooded boy sitting on the stairs with that ghastly skull in the palm of his hand.

_"'To be or not to be?'"_ echoed the boy's quote in his head. Yu knew as much as anyone with a mind that he took that quote from a Shakespearean play, but at the same time, he couldn't help but find some significance in it. Those same six words spiralled in his head like a roundabout in the same sequence and it even bothered him so greatly that he even found some kind of truth in what the boy said.

He vigorously shook his head just as he began to stick his mind on it and even tried to fill his head with other thoughts to refrain himself from thinking such things. "C'mon, enough of that," Yu said to himself in a whisper, as if he was struggling to take his mind off of the topic, "just get to sleep."

And after quelling the thought, he closed his eyes to the dark blankness that allowed his imagination to roam. But his ability to imagine wasn't necessary; not for where he was about to go. For when he discarded all images and ideas from his mind, his eyelids became heavy and his heart began to operate at a much slower rate needed for sleep.

Soon after, his empty head guided him through the calmness of his subconscious, almost as if his body was drifting in a gentle current of a shallow river. The familiar feeling of floating in an endless sea of absolute relaxation showered over him, carrying him towards the one place he vaguely knew where he was going. And when began to feel the gravity underneath him, he finally reached his destination. The Velvet Room.

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><p><em>0807 - Dark Hour - The Velvet Room_

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><p>Feeling the silky cushion under him slowly opened his eyes to the much-expected colours of navy that brightened up the chair which he was sitting on, and as he cast his eyes forward, the purple and indigo colour mixtures entered his eyes with a striking sight. The giant clock overseeing the whole room fixated both of its hands on the roman numeral of twelve, and the slight feeling of being sent up gave a small churning sensation in his stomach when he knew that the Velvet Room around him was one huge elevator that sat betwixt the dream world and the world of reality.<p>

He checked beside him to find Aigis, who he knew to be the other guest of the Velvet Room, and immediately finding her dazed expression as he cast his eyes on her. She then turned her head to him, and exchanged a smile with him.

He then looked for the main residents of this room, and after looking ahead of him, he found Igor resting his arms on the table in front of him as well as the other two attendants, Margaret and Elizabeth, who stood at each side of the same table, placing their tomes filled with vast listings of Personas on the unspoiled tablecloth.

"Ah, welcome to the Velvet Room." Igor greeted to two guests with his usual inhumane, yet warm grin. Despite how wrinkled and strange his smile appeared, Yu and Aigis knew the old man for a long enough period of time to learn to embrace it maturely and comfortably. They both gave a bow of their heads and smile to the long-nosed master and his attendants.

Yu had no idea why he wanted to come to this place. There were always unexpected twists that would be said to play with his fate whenever he came to this place, and anything he would never think of in the first place would suddenly catch him off guard in the most surprising ways, be it for better or for worse. But at the same time, it was a safe haven for him, feeling as if just taking a few moments to sit with a few trustworthy people will protect him from any foreseen dangers that may befall him in a near future. Margaret was the one person out of the three stood before him who had done everything in her power to make him grow stronger; she even battled him to test his new-found potential, as well as forging a bond with him that granted him the power of the Empress Arcana.

"You both look exhausted," Margaret said to the two Wild-Card holders, "the ordeal you faced tonight was brutal. But we commend you all on your superb efforts in dealing with the situation thus far. You have done well to achieve your victories with one another in such a short space of time." Praised by the elder sister in blue, Yu and Aigis looked back on their time with one another; when the Investigation Team first came together with S.E.E.S. And as they did, they found that Margaret was right. It had hardly been a week since the two groups came together as a whole.

Yu and Aigis looked to one another, exchanging the same looks of surprise with one another when they realised the shortness of each other's company. "Wow...that's quite amazing..." he said to her, looking for her reaction to his answer. Aigis gave him a nod, almost dumbfounded by it all. They both then looked back to the three.

"The trials you've faced must've been difficult on you and your friends," Elizabeth spoke, somewhat apologetic about it, "you both had to battle their own enemies to win your battles. The idea of it all seems so detestable. And fighting your friends...in what cruel mind did this idea flourish from?"

Yu could answer Elizabeth's question in a flash, but he'd never thought of what she said before she asked. At first, he and the rest of the group thought that the two boys who were behind the dastardly plans inside the TV world were just using their own Shadows against everyone to rid of them from their 'grand plan'. But now thinking on it, he was slightly horrified by the thought of him battling his own friends, even if he didn't know them for that long. He wouldn't want to fight the friends he made in Inaba and he wouldn't want to fight his friends he made only a few days ago. Everyone he met mattered to him.

"We have the culprits in our sights...it's just a matter of apprehending them." Aigis reassured Elizabeth with her expression of determination. Yu's mind was then taken of his thinking when he heard from the humanoid who sat next to him, also being reassured. "We'll catch them eventually," Yu spoke, turning his head occasionally from Elizabeth to Aigis, "we just need to rely on them coming to us rather than us coming to them. They're both very organised, but I think their own confidence is their downfall."

Watching two people from two different worlds working together made Elizabeth and Margaret smile at the couple with sense of growing respect for them. Their goals were fixed, and even though they knew that there was answers still left in the dark for them, their eagerness to find those answers was unfaltering. They showed no sign of giving in whatsoever.

"Now, young lady..." Igor interrupted the two with a clear of his throat, "...I see that your presence here was of your own will. How can we be of service to you?" Yu looked to Aigis for what her reason was for coming here. He may have come to place of his own accord as well, but he had no particular reason for doing so. But when he found a dejected look on her face, he then knew that had to be some sort of reason that brought her here; a reason that she seemed discomforted to have.

Her head slightly lowered. "Well...is it possible to..." she began, being cut off by her own hesitation to say. She seemed afraid to ask at first, but she found the courage within herself to start again. "Is it possible to...well...give back the Wild-Card?" And after she asked, a look of surprise suddenly came up on Yu's face. She even looked to him for his reaction, somewhat feeling like she shouldn't have asked just by looking at him.

It was the first Igor, Margaret and Elizabeth had heard as well. But with a look of understanding, Igor raised his head. "You wish to return the power of the Wild-Card?" he asked, "For what reason might that be?" Igor didn't look at Aigis with an expression that would've made her seem contempt, but instead looked on her that suggested that he knew what she was feeling. Igor may know, but Yu wanted to know the reasons as well. He always thought that Aigis was very skilled with the Wild-Card ability, but he never expected it to come to this.

Soon enough though, Aigis began to speak. "It might sound ridiculous," she began, hesitating as she spoke, "but...it just doesn't seem right for me to own it. It was Minato's power after all..." After listening, Yu got a slight grasp of what Aigis was trying to get at.

She continued, "The Wild-Card is a rare thing that is given to those who have the potential to obtain it. But that was not in my case at all...rather, I inherited it from Minato. I don't know if it was because he found the potential in me...but if I did have it back then, my purpose for having the ability has already been fulfilled. I have no reason to have it anymore, and the recent complications with it have been very difficult to cope with, even when the Personas that would help me most are the ones I have no access to. It just...doesn't belong with me..."

Aigis wanted to say more, but with a raise of Igor's hand, she stopped. The master of the Velvet Room looked to her as if what she had said was more than enough of a reason. In fact, he could sense her distress right from the start. "Do not worry," he said calmly, "the Velvet Room is place for individuals such as yourselves to grow, not to forcefully endure the hardships that is beyond one's power to face."

Listening to his words of complete understanding, Aigis eventually found it in herself to smile, almost feeling like the weight that slowly crushed her was finally being lifted. Yu also had a change of mind, and everything he knew about the power within people gave him an extension in his knowledge. Just witnessing this happen made him think on it.

He now knew that some people, even with an unfathomable power, cannot nurture their abilities as comfortable as he thought. Rather, he now thought that most absolute and true potential is very difficult to achieve; he knew that far too well having endured great struggles of his own that even he considered to be incomprehensibly brutal. Even now he still considered Aigis to have that strength to keep the tremendous power that would only be bestowed upon the very few who would own it. But he understood her reasons for doing this; the time was not right for her to have an ability that requires such responsibility, and the recent problems that added to it made the power much more unbearable to handle.

"Are you sure about this?" Margaret asked, giving Aigis one last chance to think it over, "Know that once you return the Wild-Card, your contract with us will be broken and you will no longer have access to this room, along with the Personas you have gathered up to this point. Is this your final decision?"

Without hesitation, Aigis responded with a nod of her head. "Yes. But you all understand, right?" she asked, looking around herself to find everyone's faces. She did this unnecessarily though, for she was only trying to find expressions of understanding that were already on everyone's faces. As she looked towards Yu, he had the same expression Igor had.

"Aigis, don't fret..." Yu said calmly with a friendly hand to comfort her shoulder, "...with or without the Wild-Card, you are an exceptional member of the team. Considering the problems you've been having with it and the trouble it's caused for you, even though it was a shock in the beginning, I would actually say that this was a sensible decision." Yu then had a firm belief that a power that is able to cope with is better than a great power that is unbearable to cope with, and Aigis saw this belief in him.

She couldn't help but smile to him, remembering the kind of qualities Minato had and then comparing them to Yu. It had been said many time before and it had been said time and time again; but Aigis couldn't help but think one more time that Yu was no different from Minato. Their leadership were the same, and their care for their friends had no difference whatsoever between each other.

They both looked back to the master and his attendants. "Then it is decided..." Elizabeth said, holding out her large leather book of Persona descriptions and flicking through the pages until she reached the middle, "...if you may, please bring the Wild-Card here. To this night forward, you will return to your one and true Persona, Pallas Athena and will once more represent the power of the Aeon Arcana."

After Elizabeth's dramatised speech ended, Aigis gladly materialised the Wild-Card in her hands and using two of her metal-tipped fingers to throw the card towards the attendant with a small frisbee throw. With a blink of her eyes, Elizabeth stopped the cards movement whilst it was in mid-air, slipping it slowly into the tight space between the two pages. And as the card sat there, Elizabeth slammed the book shut with the surprisingly enormous amount of strength in her lady-like fingers, watching as the glowing colours that emitted from the Wild-Card escaped through the pages like sparks.

Placing the compendium on the provided table, Igor rested his elbow on it as if he was reflecting on the potential that lied within Aigis when she first used the Wild-Card. "Well then. I am assuming that this is goodbye." he said, keeping that same abnormal grin on his face. Aigis thought the same thing, though there was some part of her that wanted to stay in this wondrous room having had been a guest towards these people for a couple of years.

She looked at Igor, then Elizabeth and Margaret, seeing them one final time before she would leave the Velvet Room for good. "I will never forget you all, and I will never forget the kindness and help you gave me for the past two years," she said in gratitude to the velvet residents. She then looked towards Yu, smiling to him before she would make her way towards the real world. And as Yu gave her the same smile, she looked back to Igor.

"You have been a marvellous guest to work with," Igor said with a lift of his head, "now go forth and keep your goals within your sight. May the future prosper and be bright for you...farewell." As the master gave his goodbye speech, Yu watched as Aigis' eyelids began to droop, closing slowly as her head gradually relaxed so that it was lowered to the floor.

Soon after, her body began to lift above her seat, floating in the air with her mechanical limbs hanging relaxingly behind her body as she ascended back to the real world. Gliding higher and higher, her body became transparent, and the higher she went, the more her body was vanishing back to the surface. After a short while, her body was nowhere to be seen.

"Wait..." Yu said in realisation as he turned back to Igor, "...the problems she was having the Wild-Card...what were the cause of them? She couldn't have lost control of the Fool Arcana just like that." It was a question that hadn't been asked for a while, and even though it didn't matter to Aigis as much, Yu was quite hung up on the topic.

"Well, as far as we can tell," Margaret began, "because the Wild-Card was Aigis' inheritance, the original user of that power gave it to her because of an inability to wield it...and we already know the cause of this inability." Just saying it gave Yu an awful reminder of Minato's death. Margaret continued, "But because the control loss of wielding the power wasn't any fault of hers, the only explanation could be that the Wild-Card is reacting to its original user. For that to happen though, Minato must be..."

But before she could finish she was cut off mid-sentence, not by hesitation though. When Yu examined Margaret's facial expression further, he could see that her eyes were looking to the ground, and there was no sign at all that she was going to finish her sentence; it was just going to be left at a cliffhanger. He then had his suspicions.

"Margaret..." Yu called, urging for her to say that last little bit of the sentence, "...Minato must be what?" But Margaret just kept quiet, turning her somewhat worrisome eyes away from him. He then turned to Elizabeth. "Elizabeth? What about you?" Again, she turned away from him with the same look her sister had, giving no information whatsoever that only made his suspicions grow. Finally, he looked to the last person he could ask and expect to get an answer from. "Igor?" This time, he didn't turn away, but he didn't give any answers either. He just stared at Yu with the same blank look.

"Huh? ...What aren't you telling me?" he asked the three, darting his head between each of them to find any sign of information from them. But yet again, nothing. And after a short while of asking the residents, he realised something.

"_Wait, am I right to ask them about something sensitive?" _he questioned himself in his mind, _"I might have taken this the wrong way...maybe my assumptions on the matter aren't right at all...maybe the theft of his body has somehow made Aigis' Wild-Card act strange. I just don't know now..."_

And as he thought this, his proceeded to apologise to the master and attendants, from which he received a quick forgiveness. As always though, Igor smiled the widest at Yu's thoughts of understanding the situation. "There is no need to apologise," Igor said in reassurance to him, "your journey has developed an open mind for you. Everything becomes questionable, and the amount of answers you seek may seem like an eternity for them all to unravel. But with every question comes a step closer to the truth. Never forget that, and the way forward will come naturally."

Taking Igor's advice, Yu nodded as he let it all sink in, smiling as well when he knew that he was on the right tracks with how to question things properly. And now being the only Wild-Card holder in the whole group, the responsibility of the given advice was now very crucial for him to heed.

There was then a short moment of silence between them all, which indicated the end of Yu's time in the Velvet Room. He then looked at the overhead clock and found that the hour hand was reaching for the number nine whilst the minute hand was racing through to complete the last few minutes that they all had together for one night.

"The morning comes..." Elizabeth spoke through the silence, "...keep your fighting spirit strong and your friends close. There are still many ordeals left to face for you all." For the last few visits Yu had made to the Velvet Room, Elizabeth seemed normal and calm. But seeing her apparently happy self couldn't help but make him smile, especially when everything she says is like a dramatised stage performance speech.

He then turned to Igor who gestured his hand with a courteous gentleman's wave. "There is still much to learn on your journey, but the answers will come in time..." he said in assurance, "...with the bonds you've forged and the bonds still in waiting, guide yourselves towards the unwavering path of truth...so until we meet again...farewell."

And with that, Igor's bidding dropped Yu's eyelids like window blinds, as if he was placed under the master's spell. And shortly after, the familiar floating sensation returned to his body, letting his muscles relax as he rose up into the pool of his calm subconsciousness. Wrapped in sleep with an absence of feeling in his body, he slowly ascended to the surface. All he could hear was his own breathing; no echoes of strange voices, no created noises of dreams or nightmares. Just himself.

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><p><em>0807 - Morning - The Real World_

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><p>Then gradually, some feeling came back to his body, followed by the familiar sound of heavy rain. The aching feeling returned to his muscles and the exhaustion began to kick back into his system. But nonetheless, he opened his eyes, confident that he was back in the real world. The rude awakening of daylight that had a sudden contrast to the Velvet Room's lighting made him sure of that.<p>

Rubbing his eyes, he groaned as he sat up on his bed wrapping his bed covers over his lap to keep some warmth. He may have been exhausted both mentally and physically, but his mind was still as active as ever.

It may have occurred to him as a topic that was too sensitive when he realised it, but when his mind was suddenly fixed on it, he wasn't certain of it anymore. He knew that Margaret was keeping something secret about Minato. _"Minato must be what?" _he asked himself again in his thoughts, _"He passed away...the only thing that happened to him after that was that his body was stolen...was that the reason?"_

He managed to shrug it off, but there was one thing he knew; something wasn't right, and there was a thought in his head that if this was one difficult answer that Igor was speaking of, then difficult it will be. One thing was for sure though; last year's case was unlike any other, and it seemed like it was all happening again. This was more than a mystery. It was a blast from the past.

**Ooooh! More mysteries are unfolding! I hope you have enjoyed this chapter as well as your trick-or-treating. Anyway, keep reading and reviewing, and watch this space for the next chapter! CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Yosuke: Hey, I wonder where Marie went..._

_Yu: That's a question..._

_Ken: Are you saying she controls the weather?_

_Nanako: Big Bro!_


	29. A New Dorm Resident

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Twenty-Nine_

_A New Dorm Resident_

**Hello again guys! Sorry about the REALLY long update again. I've been playing the new Assassin's Creed 3 as of late, and well...IT'S AWESOME! I would recommend it to anyone, even if you aren't a fan of the series! Get it! But now since I have some free time on me, LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0806 - Afternoon_

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><p>Still raining, still dull, still miserable and still stuck indoors for some; it was just another wet day in Tatsumi Hall, and even a few forgot about it because of how natural it soon became in the short space of time the two groups had been together for. The rain hurtled down heavy like any other day, and because of it, everyone started to go out less and less. But on this night, they all had to stay indoors, for there was an important guest coming to the dorm.<p>

The Investigation Team were the most impatient ones in the lounge, barely containing their excitement to see Nanako after a week of being away from Inaba. S.E.E.S found this same expression from each of them, and when the hours flew by as Yu told them about his little cousin, every description and every exact detail he gave to her gave them all a taste of what to expect.

Even with all this excitement though, there were still so many plans to be made for their new resident. S.E.E.S wanted to make sure that there was a vacant room on the girls' floor, and since Nanako would be staying with grown-up people, they wanted to make her experience inside the Tatsumi Hall enjoyable. But with all the executed operations, even though they were all successful on each night in the Midnight Channel, they just couldn't keep up with it all.

But the Investigation Team knew her more than anything; she wouldn't scold anyone for not setting her allocated room, and even though she felt awkward with them all to begin with, they knew that they would get along with other friends who were older than them. She was a child, yet she had the maturity that could match that of an adult's; very few children would find this behaviour at such an age, but Yu found something more special within Nanako. Whenever you were in the same room as her, there is never a dull moment, come rain or shine.

There was one thing planned though, and it was all thanks to Yu. In front of everyone were bowls of beautifully-presented food that gave off various smells and aromas that even a sniff of it's irresistible combination would make anyone drool. There was one bowl for each of them, including an extra bowl for when Nanako arrives, and each of the bowls were stacked high with Oyakodon; another one of Yu's creations, and a one of his own signature recipes. By then, the S.E.E.S members were so absorbed in Yu's cuisine that they couldn't help but feel what the Investigation Team always felt when he cooked; excited, somewhat impatient, and the most of all, starving.

Junpei was the most impatient out of all them, staring into the bowl as if he was gazing into a bottomless pit of rice, meat and egg. He looked as if he was hypnotised by the amount of food that was placed in front of him, and he didn't notice at all the crooked grin he was growing on his face. Comically, even his eyes started to reflect the bright yellow colour of the egg yolk layering on top of the mountain of rice. But that was the effect the food had on him; just looking at it put him in a trance of ecstasy.

"Junpei, snap out of it!" Yukari called for him, "You're grinning like an idiot again...it creeps me out." Hearing her through the muffled silence, Junpei blinked frantically in realisation, shaking his head vigorously after feeling as if he just woke up from a pleasant dream. He wiped his face of the condensation he collected from the steam of the rice, and when he lifted his head to see everyone giving him looks, he sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck with an awkward grin and chuckle.

"But the food...look at it...it's just begging to be eaten...I know I am...!" Junpei said in a partial moan, almost as if he was ready to pounce at the bowl, or even to dive into it like with a swimming pool. It was a reaction no one would show even if they were at their most hungry, but Junpei in this case was an exception. His stomach cried out to him with constant rumbles in his belly that were absolutely unbearable for him to contain, and after a while, he was nearly on the brink of his breaking point.

"Dude, why are you sweating?" Akihiko asked Junpei as he immediately noticed the abnormality of such a reaction over hunger. Any reasonable answer would've sufficed, but all Junpei could muster up was a painful look that gritted his teeth as his reply. Akihiko only asked him out of genuine curiosity, but the first thing that came to Junpei's mind was that he was only asking him just to tease him.

"It's just the steam!" he replied with a raised voice of desperation, trying to change the conversation so that the current one doesn't go on any further, "And how come you're not starving?! You hardly ate anything this morning! And you probably eat more than I do!"

"Well, excuse me for having small portions every once in a while," Akihiko replied, only to steer his original conversation back to where it was, "besides, how did this become about me? You're the one who's suffering here. Didn't you eat out the whole fridge this morning?"

"Settle down you two. Our guest should arrive any minute now. Try to act on your best behaviour, especially you Junpei." Mitsuru ordered maturely, gesturing for the boys to calm down and end the argument. When the finger was pointed at Junpei, he couldn't help but feel annoyed. It was clear that the starvation was riling Junpei up, and the solution to his problem was just right in front of him with a taunting spread. A bite would do just as good, but he knew he had to wait for Nanako even if it killed him in the end. And even though he was close to feeling that way, he kept his strength up to resist Yu's cooking.

And that was all they could do; wait. But Yu tried his best to set an example for everyone along with others that still had the patience to wait for their guest to come. To keep the boredom at bay though, they focused on the news reports that were being read out on the TV. But as usual, the same news on Minato came up constantly, and the weather report named the days of the week with the same image of heavy rain hovering over them.

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><p><em>0806 - Evening_

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><p>Again, this was too routined to even take notice of it anymore, and because the news was the only available thing that would draw Junpei and a few other impatient individuals away from the food, the just settled for it. But then, something sprung to Yosuke's mind; something that he and possibly the others didn't notice from the start of watching the weather report. It was a vague realisation at first, but as he pried into his memory banks, he then noticed that something was missing. Or to him, it was someone.<p>

"Hey, I wonder where Marie went..." he said out loud whilst attempting to remember the last time he saw this weather-woman. And as soon as the name was mentioned, each of the Investigation Team members looked towards him, not having thought about it before up until now.

Marie; a girl who is more than what meets the eye. Before meeting her, Marie stood out from the crowd both in terms of fashion and in terms of personality. Yu could remember her clothes perfectly before she became the weather-woman who held the special ability to decide on the weather. At first glance, she would seem like a delinquent who everyone would want to avoid. But Yu and the others saw something more than that; there was something more behind those clothes and blank looks that she gave. The very accessory that stood out in his mind was the golden 'V' emblem that sat on her blue cap, remembering her connections with the Velvet Room.

Her personality was cold and harsh upon their first meeting, but as they gradually built up their friendship, there was really no lack of emotion from her at all. Rather, she would hide those feelings of timidity and insecurity from the world with her seemingly-emotionless expressions. Apart from that, she would have a passion for fashion as well as nature and writing her own poems to express those emotions she couldn't show. She was really something else.

But what he couldn't forget most of all was her forced role she had to play for Ameno-Sagiri. In fact, she was controlled by it, and even Kunino-Sagiri took part in this as well. It all called back the situation in his mind like a traumatic event; she did give them a fright after fighting her after all. She was one small part of a much greater power; Kusumi-No-Okami. That was all in the past though. The matter at hand was the whereabouts of Marie's being.

"That's a question..." Yu replied as he sent himself into a deep thought. He tried to remember the last time he had seen her doing the weather report, but he could only narrow it all down to the days when it was clear sunny skies. Marie not only read the weather reports, but she had the power to decide on it as well, and knowing that the last few days had been nothing but miserable downpours, his fears started to grow.

Fortunately, he could remember a few things. He remembered seeing her now and again on his own TV back in the city, seeing it on the Dojima's TV before it started raining, and he even remembers seeing her on the small TVs that were built into the walls of the train before he first saw the Minato case on the news. She still had to be around. But in the knowledge that she hadn't been presenting the reports since then, and the rain seemed to have started after her last appearance, there had to be one thing for sure; this was no coincidence. _"Marie..." _Yu recalled her in his mind, _"...what's going on? If she has control over the weather...why is it raining? Geez, I feel so ignorant...I should've known sooner..."_

Yu was the only one who was thinking this hard, and when the others around him saw this, they tried to break him free of his worrisome thoughts. "Hey, Senpai..." Kanji said as he shook Yu's shoulder, "...what's with that face? I'm sure it won't be anythin' serious. She might've caught somethin' for all we know." Hearing his words of reassurance, Yu's thoughts were slowly being put to rest, but he couldn't shake off the fact that she had full control over the weather and how it coincided with the amount of rain that had been thrown down over the few days.

He didn't want to think too much on the worse-case scenario; he had a big tendency for thinking such things as of late. Taking Kanji's word for it, he calmed his mind of the horrible thoughts that were running through his head. "I feel the same way you do, Yu..." Naoto said across the table, "...but we mustn't think of it this way. Anything could've happened to her to cause such weather. Like Kanji said, she may be poorly...or the cause might lie within something on an emotional level..."

Yu could only nod to Naoto's suggestion, knowing as well as she did that she was only saying that because of the limited options they had to resolve what might have been; there was nothing they could do at the moment.

"May I ask as to who this 'Marie' is?" Aigis asked, confused as the other S.E.E.S members were, "You say anything might have happened to her to bring about a change in the weather, correct?" As soon as her questions were asked, the others couldn't help but ponder over what they were all talking about.

"Yeah...are you saying she controls the weather?" Ken asked briefly, unsure whether to believe in this or not. It wasn't a surprise for the Investigation Team to find a whole new group of friends to take all of this in at first; there were still so many stories to share with one another. So to take their minds off the news reports and constant pattering of rain, they spent the time talking about Marie; the most unlikely friend for them to ever come across. And during their reminiscence of the times they had with her, both good times and dramatic, the S.E.E.S members soon started to wonder why this unspoken friend wasn't with them.

The way they all described Marie made it seem more normal for her to have such a power, even when she took on the guise and career of a weather reporter. Soon then, they were starting the think the way Yu and Naoto did; there was rain but no sun, and the question on the dilemma remained unanswered. No assumptions were made, and there was no definite explanation. They all had to rely on guess-work.

As before though, they only had to hope for the best. "She sounds very astonishing. You all seem to speak very highly of her." Mitsuru commented, trusting the group with the appraising descriptions which they gave to her.

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><p><em>0806 - Nighttime_

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><p>Shortly after, the conversations died down, bringing everyone back into the silence. But at the same time, just before the rice and eggs started to become cold, a quite screeching sound rang from outside the dorm. Mixing into this slightly painful noise came a sound of car tyres crunching against the wet curb. At first, they all thought that it could've been any parking car. But listening more closely, they could hear that it was being parked right outside the doors.<p>

Even Koromaru leapt up on his four legs from his lounged position, skipping up to the front door with a wild wagging of his tail. As he approached the door, he jumped onto his two back legs and placed his front paws on the wood, scrapping away with his claws whilst barking in happiness for the arrival of their guest.

"That must be her! Go on, Senpai!" Rise shouted in excitement, pushing Yu's shoulder in urgency to head for the door. Quickly, Yu got up from his seat and jogged towards the door. And as he did this, he looked through the foggy window panes to try and find the silhouette of the car outside. Seeing the headlights, he immediately twisted the doorknob and swung the door open, being greeted with a large spray of rain in the process.

But the rain and the large guest of wind that forced the door open didn't matter, because as he poked his head out through the doors, he squinted through the downpour and slowly began to find a small, familiar figure forming in the darkness of the dull afternoon. It was a little girl who barely looked eight years old, and she was desperately holding onto her pink, character-themed umbrella with all of her might to stop it from blowing into the rushing gales. Her small pigtails in her hair were dancing from side to side, which made it even harder to see her face in the distance.

Yu knew who it was though; his little faraway cousin, Nanako.

"Big Bro!" Nanako cried out in the voice of sheer happiness, sprinting towards Yu when she saw him. As an act out of nothing but excitement, Nanako stored away her umbrella and fought against the elements to reach the door where her big cousin and the shelter were. And with only a short time of struggling against the dynamic weather, she ran into Yu's arms, embracing each other as if they hadn't seen each other for months; it had barely been a week.

"Sorry Yu, I'm going to have to get going!" shouted another rushed voice from where the car was. When Yu lifted his head to see the figure, Ryotaro was sitting in the driver's seat with the window rolled down a shade. Yu couldn't shout back because of the amount of noise the heavy rain was making, but when he spotted his uncle's smile and wave through the distorted window, he gave a quick wave back to see him off. Nanako also gave her farewell wave before her father drove off into the streets of badly-illuminated streetlights, watching him as if he was a hero heading into the dark of night.

Quickly, Yu and Nanako ran inside the dorm and slammed the door behind them. "She's here!" Yu shouted to everyone as he grabbed a towel from the coat-hooks and wrapped his arms around Nanako to dry her hair down.

"Nanako-chan!" shouted the synchronised voices of the Investigation Team, getting up from their seats to greet their little friend. S.E.E.S didn't know what to do. They could either greet their new guest the same way the other group did, or they could just wait there until the excitement calmed down so that they can introduce themselves properly. It didn't take much decision-making though; they were staying put in their seats.

Whilst they just sat there, they watched as the Investigation Team crowded the little girl with greetings and expressions of nothing but enthusiasm. They all gave her a very warm welcome, giving her piggybacks on Yu's shoulders and chanting her name in unison as if she was a person very important and significant to them all. In fact, she was.

As their exaggerated hoards of greetings ended, they all brought Nanako over to the rest of the group, sitting her down on the nearest sofa. She was full of energy when she stepped through the doors, but as soon as she looked towards the new faces of S.E.E.S, her brightened look quickly turned away from the strangers, struggling to stop the shy blushes from reddening her face.

Yu couldn't help but chuckle at Nanako's timidity. And before he could say anything to her, Teddie leaned towards her from behind the backrest of the sofa. "Don't worry, Nana-chan. These guys are our friends!" he said with his usual dramatised tone, almost like he was trying to coax her into facing their new friends. But despite Teddie's cheery encouragement, Nanako could only give a quick look of the S.E.E.S members with her peripheral vision before hiding away again.

"C'mon Nanako, let me introduce you to them." Yu said in a tone of comfort, slowly turning Nanako's body to face the other half of the group. Although she was able to have her full body facing them, he head was slightly lowered in embarrassment, which was something S.E.E.S found totally adorable.

Yu moved onto the introductions. "This is Mitsuru Kirijo. She is the eldest one here..." he said with a gesturing hand towards Mitsuru's direction. Mitsuru gave her new guest a courteous bow of her head, and all because of Nanako's presence, she couldn't help but smile to her. "It is a pleasure to meet you at last, Nanako. I hope you will enjoy your stay here." she said in her usual well-mannered greeting. Nanako didn't even look at her until Mitsuru spoke, and when she did, she felt as if she was laying her eyes on a supermodel. At this point, Nanako wasn't seeing a stranger anymore.

Yu then turned towards Yukari. "...this is Yukari Takeba..." he introduced her as his arm glided to her. Nanako wanted to shy away again, but Yukari's beautiful features were something she couldn't ignore. Again, there was no sign of a stranger in Yukari. "It's so nice to meet you. Your 'big bro' has told us a lot about you." Yukari responded with a smile. Yukari couldn't find one thing wrong with Nanako; she looked so innocent, so mature. She was exactly how Yu had described her, and even Nanako's aura made her think that there was something more.

"...Junpei Iori..." Yu turned Nanako towards Junpei, catching him poking his chopsticks into the Oyakodon with his lips just touching the rim of the bowl. Seeing Yu making eye contact with him made Junpei immediately slam his chopsticks back where they were and sat up straight as if nothing had happened; the look on his face said it all though. But despite his rudeness of starting without everyone else, Nanako couldn't help but find it amusing; hilarious even. Junpei felt like an idiot, which was a feeling he would always have for him to even lie about it. But when he heard Nanako's giggles and chuckles, his sheepish feeling started to fade and eventually brought the confidence back into him. "Urm...'sup." Junpei greeted with a wide grin, giving a short casual wave to shrug off his actions.

"...Ken Amada..." Yu brought his hand over to teenager sitting in the sofa opposite Nanako. Yu could remember Ken on the first day they came into the Tatsumi Hall; he was just as shy as Nanako was now to see all these new people. But also like her, he adapted quickly to the people he was working with. For that moment though, Ken gave her a friendly wave. "Hello there." he said briefly, not yet fully confident with himself being presented to a new person. Yu chuckled at the striking similarities the two had before moving on to the next introduction.

"...Aigis..." he moved onto the humanoid. For Yu, and some others, Aigis must've been the hardest person to introduce Nanako to. As far as Nanako knows, everyone she is meeting is all human, but because Aigis had metallic limbs and had some unsubtle features that could've given her true identity away, they were all worried that this might distress Nanako. After a while of thinking it over though, they then thought that it wouldn't matter; she may be a android on the outside, but inside she was human. She had a heart.

Fortunately, Nanako didn't notice anything under the thick clothing Aigis was wearing for the occasion. Everyone found this quite surprising, especially since her headphone-like devices and blue lenses for eyes stood out from the rest of her facial features. But again, it didn't matter. If Nanako was happy just to see her, then nothing more needs to be said. "Nanako-chan..." Aigis began her greeting with a formal wave, "...Yu-kun speaks very highly of you. I'm glad that we got to meet each other in person." And when Nanako gave a wide grin, it spread to Aigis' face. They almost smiled in unison, as if there was a bond growing between them already.

Yu left a moment between the two girls before moving onto the next person. "...Fuuka Yamagishi..." he called for Fuuka, turning Nanako towards her. Nanako had seen many beautiful friends already, but when she turned to Fuuka, she then added another one to the list. As soon as she saw her braided turquoise hair, Nanako instantly knew that she was someone unique; she didn't know if it was intuition, but she just knew when she first looked at her, just from the sight of her hair. "It's so good to finally meet you Nanako," Fuuka greeted, leaning forward in her seat to lower her head to her height, "my, you look so beautiful. You must have all the boys chasing after you!" Nanako was still too shy to say anything, but she had the courage to look Fuuka and the others in the eye. She giggled to Fuuka's remark, getting a giggle from her in return.

"...Akihiko Sanada..." Yu introduced the final member of S.E.E.S; last but certainly not least. He was the second person to be recruited by S.E.E.S after all. At first, Nanako was a bit intimidated by Akihiko, seeing his muscles stretch the sleeves of his slim-fitting shirt along with the small plasters that covered his scars and cuts. "It's good to meet you at last," Akihiko said with his friendly grin, "from what Yu's told me about you, there's no doubt at all that you are strong. You're a little fighter, huh?" And when Akihiko made his compliments to the infant, Nanako's view of him had changed. He may look muscular as well as masculine, but he was just as friendly as the others around him.

Yu thought that he had introduced everyone, but thinking again, there was one more member of the team that he knew Nanako would love to meet. He looked around the floor to find him, and when he did, he was already scampering towards Nanako's legs. "...and how could I forget? This is Koromaru." he introduced the canine, watching him jump on the sofa and sitting in the space between him and Nanako. Koromaru gave a few barks of welcome to the little girl before receiving strokes and pats on the back from her. "Aww, who's a good boy?" Nanako asked the hound with a baby-like tone whilst pampering his fur coat with gentle strokes and rubs.

Nanako had only been in the lounge for a few minutes, but after being warmly welcomed into the Tatsumi Hall, she felt like she was already getting to know them; the same could be said for S.E.E.S, who felt that their hospitality so far has been very agreeable for their little guest. Judging by her uncontrollable grins and smiles, they all felt that they succeeded. After the short introductions, the large mixture of different conversations started to fill the lounge with merry voices that were fuelled with energy. These conversations didn't just get plucked from the air; Nanako was making all of this happen. Just her being in the same room as everyone sparked their enjoyment again. From all this, everyone knew that Yu wasn't just saying words; he really meant what he said about Nanako.

Suddenly, she gasped upon laying her eyes on the food bowl in front of her. "Are we having Oyakodon?!" she asked with lit eyes, already picking up the chopsticks in the way Junpei did to sneak a bite. Upon hearing the name of the dish they were having that night, Junpei's eyes widened in realisation."Oh yeah! Can we eat yet?" he asked with not even an ounce of patience left.

He looked ready to explode, and upon seeing that kind of look on his face, Yu simply had to give in. He threw his arms up as a comical sign of surrendering to Junpei's begging. "Of course! Dig in everyone!" he cried out like he was an announcer at a festival. Without any hesitation, everyone gave a cheer and picked up their chopsticks with a swipe of their impatient hands.

And as everyone took their first bite of the Oyakodon, the conversations immediately died back down again. The only noises they could hear was the sound of their own munching, and the sound of other people humming as they ate their food. Everyone in that room has had at least one dish of Oyakodon in their lives, but since it was Yu's cuisine, they knew that they were in for a surprise; the first bite of the meal confirmed that, and even though they were expecting the surprise, the food itself just blown them away. Yu saw this as an achievement. Everyone expected the unexpected, and ended up not expecting it anyway. It was strange, but only Yu could pull it off.

"Erm...Chie? Yosuke? What are you guys doing?" Yukiko asked the two when the spotted something odd about the two. No one noticed up until then, but when everyone looked towards Chie and Yosuke, they found something very unlike them, to say the least; to say that it was 'unlike' them would be an understatement.

As they all looked in their direction, the two were holding up bits of rice and egg in their chopsticks in front of each others mouths rather than their own, and as they served their food to each other, their heads were coming in closer and closer to each other. That was until Yukiko interrupted them and caused everyone to stare at the seemingly-awkward moment.

Whilst they were doing this, they seemed as if they were put into a trance, but after hearing Yukiko they turned to her, instantly noticing what they were doing. They looked to everyone and then to each other, quickly drawing their chopsticks away from each other the second they realised. What made it more strange was that, rather than Chie landing her usual knockout punch on Yosuke, none of them made any quarrel; it just stopped right there.

Everyone just dismissed it and returned to their dinner, but Yu was curious. He kept an eye on the two before paying attention to his Oyakodon, and fortunately for him, it paid off. A short while after it happened, Chie and Yosuke would give each other the occasional nervous glance at one another, blushing a radiant red colour every time their eyes met. Also, he would always find them both chowing away at the food like there was no tomorrow, but this time, there was a drastic change. He noticed that they were both eating slowly, trying not to make any mess; this was the complete opposite of the usual Chie and Yosuke.

He knew perfectly well was going on, and could only laugh a little at how awkward they were sitting next to each other. He didn't want to say anything and eventually returned to his rice in case one of the two would spot his grin.

**And there we have it! Nanako is at Tatsumi Hall! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter, especially to those who are Nanako fans! Well, keep reading and reviewing, and I will see you in the next chapter! We're about to hit the milestone of THIRTY chapters! I can't wait...CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Yu: For you, it's time for bed I think._

_Nanako: Nuh-uh! I need to brush my hair first._

_Mitsuru: Would you like me to help you with your bedtime preparations? The rest of the girls are welcome to join._

_Nanako: A-A slumber party?_

_Teddie: Wait! If Yukiko-chan is going, I'm going too!_


	30. Girl Talk

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Thirty_

_Girl Talk_

**Well, well, well guys! How are you all doing this fine day? Are you all counting down the days 'til Christmas? I sure am! Just a few more weeks left. Anyway, we've hit the thirty-chapter milestone! And hopefully there will be many more chapters to come! But...without further ado...LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0807 - Nighttime_

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><p>The bustles of conversations never stopped; the energy didn't cease to end. Nanako's arrival was the very thing that was needed to spark the enjoyment within the dorm once again in a long time; it felt that long anyway. The long enduring nights they struggled to survive refrained them all from getting the right amount of sleep, but just by Nanako being with them all, none of that ever mattered. When she stepped through the door, the exhaustion they had over the few days was suddenly lifted. It was as if she was the source of everything fun and lively, and no one regretted bringing her into the dorm whatsoever.<p>

The chatter and laughter distracted them from their food at times, but nonetheless, the food was consumed without a moment wasted. The bowls and plates that held the piles of beautifully-presented delicacies were suddenly reduced to crumbs; the sight of it all looked like carnage, especially when they demolished the dishes in a matter of mere minutes. Yu's cuisine was something they couldn't savour after all, even if they tried.

"Urgh...aww man..." Junpei mumbled to himself, rubbing his stomach to feel the large portions of food digesting, "...fast food and ready-made meals got nothing on this!" Everyone around him could agree; they were all stuffed. But when they looked back at the empty table with nothing but crumbs and cutlery, even though they devoured a meal fit for a giant, they were a little reluctant to see the banquet already over. It was nothing to be upset over though. Besides, the night was still young, and the darkness that started to collect outside didn't tire anyone down, not even Nanako.

"Beef bowls, Hot Chocolate, Oyakodon...I bet there isn't anything you can't cook," Fuuka commented as she wiped her lips with the provided napkin, smiling in veneration at Yu's expertise, "suddenly I feel the urge to get back into cooking again." It was astonishing for her to find the motivation to continue practising her cooking abilities, and Yu thought that it would be a good change of pace in the kitchen.

But when he looked to the rest of S.E.E.S, he didn't find one single look of agreement. Rather, the only expressions he could find were ones of astound and worry. It was as if they were totally disagreeing with the idea of Fuuka cooking. When he phrased it that way in his head, he then came to a realisation, and because of it, he swung his eyes round to Chie, Yukiko and even Rise who was sitting next to him. He knew more than anyone in the Investigation Team that these three girls were very much notorious among the group for their awful cooking. He didn't want to say or even think anything of Fuuka's skills yet, but the way S.E.E.S were giving their expressions made him think it to be somewhat true.

But things then became worse. "I might have to join you on that one." Yukiko said in delight; the only positive look amongst the same looks of worry their other friends had. When S.E.E.S looked for the Investigation Team's reactions, their expressions mirrored the exact same feelings they were having. Not everyone was a know-it-all at cooking, but they all knew that putting those two together was like creating the perfect recipe for disaster. As they exchanged their looks, gradually changing them from worried to anxious, they secretly let everyone aware of the dangers that would lie in the consequences if not dealt with.

And then another bomb dropped. "Ooh! Ooh! Me too!" Chie erupted from the corner sofa, managing to scare Yosuke in the process. Yosuke had a right to be frightful though, especially when Yukiko was part of the newly-formed team of chefs; Chie's skill at choosing all the wrong ingredients and adding them into a dish with the wrong amounts at the wrong times was absolutely astounding, and not in a good way at all.

But just when things couldn't get any worse than they were now, another voice cried out from next to Yu. "Count me in! We can have another cook-off!" Rise shouted in excitement, which made it all the more harder for Yu to argue against it; he had the opportunity to say something to call it off, but after hearing Rise's voice, there was no way he could convince her otherwise. He truly adored her with all his heart, but when he kept constantly reminding himself of the ridiculous amounts of spice she put into her dish in the last cook-off, it was hard to say anything to her.

The four girls then looked towards him, looking for his reaction. He was in it now; he only had two options. It was either to agree on it and be the one responsible for the girls who will most likely, if not certainly, cause imminent damage to everyone. Or it was to disagree and make them think that he chose not too because of their previous attempts at cooking.

He tried his best to keep a straight face on so that no one would notice the amount of pressure he was feeling trying to make the safe, logical choice. The problem was, there was no such choice.

But then a wonderful sound breathed from the other side of Yu, immediately turning the girls head towards the source including the rest of the group. As he looked with them, he found Nanako stretching her arms up in the air, opening her jaws wide to let out a gentle, sweet yawn. It was just adorable to look at, and for Yu it was almost miraculous for her to come in at the right time when he was under pressure.

"You're even making me sleepy," Yu said with a chuckle as he looked at her tiresome eyes, "for you, it's time for bed I think." Upon hearing him, Nanako found a fatherly tone in his voice. But despite the soft persuasion he gave to her, she quickly shook her head, flapping her pigtails from side to side.

"Nuh-uh!" Nanako said with a cheeky grin, "I need to brush my hair first. But I won't be tired after that!" Yu couldn't help but laugh gently at Nanako's humour, especially when she was feigning the energy she expended from conversing and eating with everyone. The others found the obvious look of exhaustion and smiled with Yu at the effort she was putting in the stay up with them. But they all knew she couldn't though; it was getting late, and they all needed to watch the Midnight Channel. They needed Nanako in bed.

Fortunately, Mitsuru had a plan, and stood up when she confirmed it in her head. "Nanako," she called for her with a smile that suggested her confidence in her plan that would entice the little girl, "there's a vanity in my room that I'm sure you would like. If it would so please you, would you like me to help you with your bedtime preparations? The rest of the girls are welcome to join as well if they'd like."

Mitsuru knew as well as anyone else in the room that Nanako wasn't to know of their late-night discussions as well as the whole purpose of the Investigation Team being in Iwatodai altogether, but she didn't only do it for the circumstances; she found a delightful friend in the little companion, and she wouldn't mind getting to know her some more. When the other girls were given their invitation, not one of them hesitated to take the offer, except for Naoto, who just sat there awkwardly with no say on the matter.

"Yeah! How about it Nanako?" Yukari asked her with an excitement that slowly coaxed Nanako into it, "It would be like having an all-girl's slumber party. Wouldn't that be fun?" Nanako had no intention of turning it down in the first place, but when Yukari mentioned the magic words 'slumber party', her eyes lit up like lanterns. She never had a lot of sleepovers back in Inaba; she would spend most of her time waiting for her father to come home, doing the food shopping or cooking microwaveable meals for her and Ryotaro. Just hearing it from Yukari made Nanako's motivation hit the ceiling. She quickly stood up from her seat. "A slumber party?! Yeah! Let's do it!" Nanako shouted out in a release of energy she couldn't contain.

"A-A slumber party?" Naoto asked the girls, somewhat worried that she was inevitably going to be pulled into the situation, "I...should stay down here...I wouldn't be a very good conversationalist anyway..." It wasn't her best effort to keep herself away from such activities, but even if she had given a really good argument, it still wouldn't have been enough to persuade the other girls.

"Aww, don't be such a party-pooper, Naoto!" Rise said mockingly, walking over to her to tug her by her arm away from the sofa she was sitting in, "C'mon, it's Nanako's welcome gift!" Naoto wasn't prepared to be moved from her seat, not until Rise played her trump card. Naoto loved Nanako as much as the rest of the Investigation Team, and S.E.E.S as of then; she knew that she wanted every girl to be at this slumber party. In the end, she had no other choice. "Okay, okay...I'll join in." she said with a sigh, giving a look of defeat to the other girls; they all didn't want to take notice of it though. They knew she was coming whether she wanted to or not.

"Wait!" Teddie shouted as he stood up into a posture that puffed his chest out, "If Yukiko-chan is going, I'm going too!" Everyone in the Investigation Team knew that this was going to happen. Yukiko just stood there embarrassed, and before Teddie could say anything else, Kanji pulled him back down into the sofa. "No, Teddie!" said Yu, Yosuke and Kanji in unison.

The girls just forgot all about Teddie afterwards, and focused on their own was official; the slumber party was on. And without another moment wasted, the rest of the girls rushed up to their feet, running with Nanako up the stairs to the third floor where the girls' dorm rooms were, picking up her small pink rucksack as she went. As they rushed up the stairs, Mitsuru looked back to Yu, giving him a look to suggest that everything was going to plan. When Yu saw this, he showed his gratitude by mouthing the words 'thank you' to her before watching her walk back up the staircase to catch up with the other girls.

After ascending to the third floor, Mitsuru walked over to her door where the others were standing, Nanako being the slightly impatient one out of the group. Pulling the key out from her pocket, she poked it into the keyhole and gave a gracious twist of her wrist to turn to the key. It was nothing to get excited about, but just watching Mitsuru doing this made Nanako more and more eager to have the slumber party she never had. Mitsuru saw this in her expression, but she didn't want to keep her waiting.

Then, as soon as Mitsuru swung her door open, Nanako felt that she had stepped into an entirely different world; it was more of a boudoir than just a room. Every piece of furniture in the room had the quality that would satisfy even the most prestigious of ladies, and the atmosphere that was given off by the posh choice in colours from the wallpaper and carpet could match that of a five-star hotel lounge, let alone a room. It was like a paradise to Nanako, and as the other girls watched her look around the room in awe, it was hard for them not to smile.

"Wow!" Nanako cried out in a breathy tone when she found the large vanity in the far side of the room. As she walked over to it, Mitsuru and Yukari followed suit; Chie, Yukiko, Aigis and Fuuka walked over to the bed to take a seat on it, urging Naoto to enter the room as Rise yanked her inside.

Nanako was looking forward to brushing her hair in such a large mirror, but she knew that it wouldn't be a slumber party without getting changed into something more comfier. She reached into her pink backpack and pulled out her pyjamas, looking over to the shoji screen when it caught her eye. "Is it okay if I get changed over there?" she asked Mitsuru.

"Of course. For tonight, you are welcome to everything here." Mitsuru answered with a grin, watching Nanako skip away to the shoji screen with her pyjamas waving graciously in the wind like a flag. And as she disappeared behind screen, Mitsuru and Yukari turned to one another.

"My, she is very outgoing," Mitsuru complimented the little guest with a smile, "she's even willing to try out new experiences. Maybe she's never had such luxuries as I've had back at her home; Inaba is quite a rural countryside after all." Yukari knew the stereotypes of the city people as well as Mitsuru did, and when she looked at Nanako when she first came into the dorm, she could find something very natural about her.

"That might have been a good thing though," Yukari said positively, "I usually see some kids with their parents who are quite childish and bratty to them, and some of them would grow into teenagers that don't change their attitude even if they were in high school." She remembered those types of girls from Gekkoukan High School, and even felt disgusted by her own recollections of such people. But then she looked towards the shoji screens, hearing her humming of a certain jingle. "But Nanako...she is so different from those girls. She appreciates the smallest things and still looks like the happiest girl in the world."

Whilst Yukari and Mitsuru were continuing their conversation, the rest of the girls were grouped on the king-sized bed, having their own girl talk amongst themselves. Giggling and chuckling, they were stuck on the topic all girls know best: boys. In fact, Rise was the one who brought up the topic and didn't show any intention to change it.

"Aww! Chie-senpai's in love! Chie-senpai's in love!" Rise teased Chie with her pop-idol singing voice, swaying her head from side to side and waggling her pointed bare feet. Chie felt annoyed by Rise yelling it out into the open, but even more so, her blushes were showing in her cheeks as well as the tremble in her bottom lip that caused her to have a stutter.

"Q-Quit it Rise...I'm-I'm not in love with Yosuke! And you couldn't shout it any louder?" Chie stammered in sarcasm, turning her head away from the group to hide away her timid face, "I don't think the whole world could hear you!"

"But you made it so obvious!" Yukiko teased her, just barely containing her usual laughing fits, "I know you more than anyone. You even showed it to us tonight by feeding each other!" Just hearing this constantly made Chie's blushes radiate brighter and brighter, and soon her excuses were becoming repetitive and unoriginal to even consider them to be true. It didn't take long before she buried her bright, red, shameful face into her hands.

"Don't worry, Chie-san. I may understand human emotions, but I have yet to understand the concept of 'love'. If it means anything to you as a consolation, you have a grasp of something I'm not capable of having." Aigis said with a smile of understanding, attempting to relieve Chie of her sheer awkwardness.

Chie admittedly felt slightly better after Aigis' comment, but still felt that her feelings were too paradoxical to feel that she was, in any way, right. She even felt that Aigis was implying that she was in love. "B-But...I'm not in love!" Chie denied again, still making it hard for the others to believe her. She then turned to Naoto, who hadn't even said a word for the whole time they were in Mitsuru's room. "You believe me, don't you Naoto?" she asked, immediately remembering that she was asking an ace detective; or rather, the 'detective prince'.

"Oh, um...yeah...of course..." Naoto answered timidly. Even after hearing a less than confident reply from Naoto that seemed to take her side, Chie immediately knew the lie behind it all. "Naoto!" she yelled, almost causing Naoto to fall off the edge of the bed.

"Oh come now, Chie...it shouldn't have to be anything shameful about...if you're in love, it's totally acceptable to feel that way..." Fuuka said in favour of her feelings. Chie denied it again though, feeling that Fuuka's act of standing up to her emotions wasn't helping at all; if it did anything, it was to do the exact opposite of what she wanted. "...I have nothing to be shameful for though, Fuuka! I-I'm serious!" Chie retaliated again, still giving obvious signs of the lies she was giving everyone.

It was useless; every one of the girls knew Chie's true feelings for Yosuke, and the recent things that have been going on with the two of them made it all the more harder for her to argue against everyone, let alone keep a neutral look to refrain from suggesting anything. All she could do was to deny it, which only made the others around her giggle.

"There's nothing wrong with being in love, Senpai..." Rise said, smiling with a blush when an image of Yu came to her head, "...you see Yu and I being all lovey-dovey with each other publicly, and we don't care if anyone takes notice." Chie didn't find her advice helpful in any way; she didn't want to admit her hidden feelings towards Yosuke, especially when she had denied it ever since it was brought up. She knew that the history between Yosuke and her made it much more awkward than it needed to be, and the thought of them being together, to her, was the very thing she was conscious about. It seemed that she could change the way she could interact with Yosuke, but she couldn't change the way she felt about him.

"Of course there's nothing wrong with feeling that way...it's just that I don't feel that way at all!" Chie retaliated wittingly as her last resort, failing again to change the views of the other girls.

Eventually though, Chie could finally put her excuses to rest, turning towards the shoji screens with everyone else as Nanako slowly emerged from behind them. Walking away from the changing area, Nanako approached the vanity, holding out her own hairbrush to Mitsuru as she sat down on the plump cushion part of Mitsuru's elegantly-detailed stool.

Taking the hairbrush, Mitsuru faced Nanako's body towards the mirror, grabbing another nearby stool so that she could sit behind her. Then, as Mitsuru gathered a handful of Nanako's hand, it felt as if she was handling silk, feeling the smoothness of her shiny and undamaged hair with a pleasant touch.

"Your hair is immaculate, Nanako," Mitsuru commented, getting a cheesy grin from Nanako in return, "I'm quite impressed that you've kept it in such high standard. It looks like I'll have to be extra careful to not damage it." When Mitsuru said this, Nanako then knew that she was more than familiar with how to keep one's own hair healthy.

Mitsuru's expertise didn't slow her down; she ran the brush through Nanako's hair with as much comfort and ease as possible, putting in a lot of patience and care into what she was doing. Nanako was always used to brushing her own hair, and even though Mitsuru's technique was closely similar to the way she would normally do it, it felt like something special; it was like being given hair treatment by a top-class hair stylist.

"Not to put pressure on you, Mitsuru-senpai..." Yukari said with a cheeky grin, mockingly trying to put her Senpai off, "...but Nanako's hair looks very delicate. Be sure not to spoil it now, okay?" Mitsuru knew it was a joke; Yukari was the only person she would take jokes from because of their fixed relationship with one another. She paused on her brushing for a short moment to give Yukari a chuckle. "Chut, Yukari. S'il vous plait?" she replied with an indication of her teasing in her exceptional french accent. Yukari couldn't understand very well what she was saying, but she did understand that Mitsuru was asking her to be quiet; for that reason, Yukari laughed with her. For the rest of the time, Mitsuru concentrated on the task at hand.

Eventually, after a few more strokes through Nanako's hair, Mitsuru placed the hairbrush down onto the vanity, running her hands through her handiwork to smooth the hair. "Teehee! My hair feels so smooth now!" Nanako said in praise of her temporary stylist's work.

"Now, what else would our little lady like this evening?" Yukari asked as she bent down to Nanako's height, only to be cut off by the sound of Rise's voice. The sound of her excitement was coming from the other side of the room, looking into what seemed to be a magazine.

"Girls! Girls! Come and have a look at this!" she squealed in sheer happiness, gesturing in urgency for everyone to gather around her. Since it was Rise, they all thought she was making a bigger deal than it really was. But when they all looked into the magazine, it was then clear to them that she was right to feel this excited; in fact, they all felt the same way she did.

The main image that covered the double-page inside the magazine was something none of them were expecting to find. It was a picture of Yu holding the lead guitar with a microphone in front of him, Kanji holding the bass guitar pulling a face that suggested his enjoyment, and Yosuke playing the drums in the back holding his sticks up to the sky. Next to that image was an even bigger picture of Rise singing into her golden microphone, shining as bright as the stage-lights in the background did.

It was funny to see Rise react in such a way towards her own photo. She was a pop-idol after all; she would've seen many of her own photos in countless other magazines in the past that were dedicated to her. But upon closer inspection, Rise was actually focusing on Yu's photo, and for more than just a few seconds as well; she even had to support her head with her arms to gaze upon her lover. Nonetheless, everyone realised that these photos were taken at Rise's concert that occurred in Iwatodai not too long ago.

There was some text in bold at the bottom of the photos which Rise was dying to read out. "It says: 'A band unknown and unnamed: lead guitarist, vocalist and frontman, Yu Narukami brought the heat this summer with rowdy bassist and vocalist, Kanji Tatsumi, the monkey-armed drummer, Yosuke Hanamura...and let's not forget the unforgettable and stunning Rise Kujikawa!" she read, making it seem like she was being modest to herself. But truly, she was more excited about her friends being on the double-pages of the magazine. She continued, "From nowhere they came, belting out their power like they had been hiding their genius until the right moment was set. Where have they been all our lives?! And not to mention their collaboration with 'Risette'...absolutely mind-blowing stuff!'"

Since Nanako had the magazine facing herself the most, she had the best view of her friends, smiling just as wide as Rise was at the professional look of the photos that gave Yu and the others a picture-perfect moment. "Woah...Big Bro looks so cool! And so do you Rise!" she commented sweetly, not being able to take her eyes off of the pages.

Upon examining the photos, Mitsuru, Yukari, Aigis and Fuuka couldn't help but find them so familiar. In fact, it was more than familiar; they actually recalled the whole event perfectly. "Wait...so that was you guys that were on the stage at Port Island?" Fuuka asked, immediately bringing a surprised look to the others' faces.

"Yeah..." Rise said in a slight confusion before coming to an unexpected realisation that brought a grin to her face, "...you guys were in the crowd? You watched us on stage?!" There was no doubt about it; it was clear that the S.E.E.S members were at the summer festival that day, watching the few performers from the Investigation Team play a few songs at Rise's concert.

"What a small world..." Aigis said with a smile, bringing the memory of seeing the four on stage with a happy expression to know that she knew the people before actually getting to meet them. All of a sudden, the feeling was surreal; S.E.E.S felt that they really met a bunch of celebrities, and the Investigation Team felt like they were meeting their own fans. Of course it wasn't really like that for them, but nonetheless, they all knew that they were friends since that very day.

Then, in an instant, the bustle of conversations began to rise again, creating good times and laughter in the only way women can. Again, Nanako was the very person who made those times memorable, as well as to take their minds off the pressures of the every night struggles they had to survive. This was the present, and they all wanted to keep it that way. All except for one person though; Yukari desperately wanted to enjoy the 'now' rather than the 'then'. But the very thing that sent her mind into the past was the double-page cover in the magazine.

She was truly happy when she found Yu, Kanji, Yosuke and Rise on the pages, but the more she looked at it, the more nostalgic and yearning she became. She focused on Yu, and slowly started to remember her week-long dream from two years ago; instead of seeing Yu, she saw Minato playing the lead guitar, remembering every aspect of the dream perfectly to fit the photos. The lighting, the crowd, even Junpei and Akihiko who played with him in the dream. It wasn't easy to shake it off. Not at all.

* * *

><p><em>0807 - Late Night_

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><p>Soon enough, the conversations began to die down again, letting the silence allow the sound of Nanako's yawning to fill the entire room with exhaustion. She may have yawned before having this slumber party, but this time, she was close to falling asleep, barely being able to keep her eyes open. "Time for bed now, Nanako-chan?" Yukiko asked, chuckling when she saw Nanako's sleepy head nod with slow and tiresome movements. She didn't need words to reply; she didn't have the energy for it anymore.<p>

A short moment later, Nanako was already in Mitsuru's arms, resting her head on her shoulder like a pillow. Mitsuru had never had any experience with carrying a little girl in her arms before, but even though it was a new thing for her, it was heartwarming. She carried her into a vacant room not too far from her own dorm room, and gently laid her down in the bed provided, pulling the bed covers over her.

Quietly, she walked out of the room, closing the door slowly behind her to join with the other girls."I should think that we're now ready for tonight," Mitsuru said with folded arms, "we won't be watching the Midnight Channel in our separate rooms from now on. We shall all be watching it downstairs in the lounge. This way, if the culprits are planning on broadcasting anyone that lures any one of us, we'll all be there to prevent it." Nodding to the new plan, they followed Mitsuru down to the lounge where the boys were waiting for them.

They all knew that there was a time to work hard and a time to play; they knew the two concepts very well. But when the slumber party was over and when Nanako fell fast asleep in her bed, the time for play came to an end. And for an odd reason, they were all very dispirited by that fact. All they could do now was to get back to the investigation at hand, which not only re-introduced the overwhelming feeling of responsibility, but also made them feel like they were leaving the little Nanako all on her own; not just in terms of the lack of supervision, but also because they felt as if they were leaving a bit of their happiness behind.

**There you all go! A bit of fun amongst those dark times! Anyway, keep reading and reviewing, and keep on eating those advent calendar chocolates my dear friends! For Christmas is nearly upon us! CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Akihiko: Why did they do it? What is it they don't want us to know?_

_?: Oh, you're all here! Thought about being sensible for a change?_

_Yu: Now, I want answers..._

_Yukari: Oh, you just wait... you'll get what's coming to you!_

_?: Look at how angry they are... it's not a pretty sight is it?_


	31. The Runaway Android

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Thirty-One_

_The Runaway Android_

**Ho Ho Ho everyone! Only a few days left until christmas! Well, I'm on my holidays now, so expect a slightly faster pace in chapter production (don't expect too much though, it's getting close to christmas, and it might get busy for me!). Now, who will appear on the Midnight Channel tonight? In case you didn't find out from the chapter title, you'll find out here! LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0807 - Late Night_

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><p>Only a few minutes left; the Midnight Channel was inevitably about to start, and the weather was perfect as always for it to appear. As everyone was sat down in their seats, they waited for the familiar sound of static frequencies and the sickly green glow of the TV screen in the darkness of the lounge. The tension rose dramatically, and the nerves started to kick in, especially for those who ate Yu's food to their heart's content. Junpei was one of them, and the nerves weren't helping the sickly feeling in his stomach.<p>

No one could keep up with how many people have been lured into the TV up to this point, which made it all the more difficult to know who was the next person to appear on the Midnight Channel. They were prepared for this though; everyone was with each other now, and no time would be wasted.

"Everyone ready?" Yu asked the group, getting some hesitant nods of the head from most of them. He could understand though; each time they tried to rescue their friends from entering the TV in the first place, each attempt failed. He was determined to prevent it from happening again, and he could see that same line of thinking in their eyes.

And just when everyone was getting slightly more comfortable, Yosuke realised something. "Woah, wait a minute!" he cried out, making everyone nearly jump out of their seats, "What about Nanako? What's going to happen to her when the Dark Hour is active?"

The Investigation Team hadn't thought about it and even felt immensely unprepared when Yosuke brought it up. Even Yu felt that he should've given more consideration with Nanako's own safety for when they were all gone. But when they all looked to Mitsuru, being the one with the most knowledge on the Dark Hour, they saw her look of reassurance. "There is no need to worry," she said calmly, "she'll transmogrify overnight just as every other human being does during the Dark Hour. I also made sure that the dorm was secure enough to keep anything out and in. She'll be completely oblivious to what would've happen during this hour."

Listening to Mitsuru's explanation, their thoughts were put to rest. It was already a crime to leave Nanako by herself in the first place, but there wasn't much they could do. The endurances they went through for the last few nights had became more and more difficult with each time they went into the TV. If they left someone behind to look after her at this point, there would be a very good chance that someone's life would be taken. Their options were limited; they had to keep to traditions.

Soon after, the silence returned, making the wait for the Midnight Channel so much more uncomfortable to bear. Some just looked towards one another, as if urging someone to start a conversation so that the achingly painful silence could be broken. Fortunately, Naoto had something on her mind. "The Midnight Channel...The Dark Hour...we've been awfully distracted by them in the past few days..." she spoke her thoughts aloud, "...there's still so much we don't know. No doubt the culprits made sure of that. But even so, the only thing they've made clear was that they want us rid of them."

"That's not the only thing that's irritating," Akihiko entered the conversation, "they won't tell us about this 'grand plan' of theirs. We also know that they are connected to Minato, but even if they were the ones that stole his body, why did they do it? What is it they don't want us to know?" Yu understood him very well. In fact, there was no way he couldn't; the questions were fixed in his mind ever since he acquired them. The more he asked himself these questions, the more he felt that he wasn't getting anywhere. Like Akihiko said, it was irritating for him.

"We don't even know how the Dark Hour came back, or the Midnight Channel...was that their doing as well?" Fuuka asked herself, saying it loud enough for the others to hear. Even her question couldn't be answered; there wasn't a lot of evidence to go from. These two culprits were the only leads they had, and because of it, it only made it more difficult to accept that it was actually them who caused all of this. But without the proof, they couldn't say it to be true.

Yu looked towards the clock, finding that there were only seconds left before the Midnight Channel begins its broadcast. "Well, there might be a good chance that we'll see at least one of them tonight," Yu said confidently, "and if we do, we might...we will get some answers." Everyone saw his determination, and felt that they needed to do the same. They were in desperate need of enlightenment, and the answers were within the culprits' grasp.

Soon after, the minute hand struck twelve on the nearby clock, and shortly after, the scenery slowly changed. The Dark Hour was finally among them, spreading its menacing shades of green along the walls with a distasteful appearance. The outside of the dorm showed the now-familiar landscape of an urban nightmare; puddles of rainwater turned to a crimson colour, multiple coffins were dotted in different places around the wet roads, and the moon shone over it all with its hauntingly humongous size, revealing its large patches of sickly green colours through the dorm windows.

It was an unsettling world to be suddenly thrown into, and even with the Dark Hour alone, it was a frightening image they've all come across many times before. But they still had the Midnight Channel to deal with. And when the first sounds of white noise came in, the fear began to grow.

* * *

><p><em>0808 - Dark Hour_

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><p>The first thing everyone saw was the static features of the TV screen, watching as it constantly buzzed in and out of focus whilst the black and white fuzz flashed across the screen randomly. The frequencies and the yellowish shine were also off-putting, as well as distracting. But when they focused in on the silhouette that gradually appeared on the screen, the shock slowly started to creep into them.<p>

The dark figure seemed to be that of a girl, and the hair seemed short even though it seemed close to touching her shoulders. The build of her body was slim, but upon further examination, some of her limbs were oddly shaped, despite looking very much human. As always though, the facial features of the person were not revealed, but even without them, everyone had a vague idea of who it might be. But it was an idea that deeply shocked them.

The silhouette seemed very familiar, but unlike the other figures that previously appeared on the Midnight Channel, this person was already in the room.

"Huh? Wait..." Yukari began with a gasp, "...that can't be...is it...?" And just as her hesitated question was asked, she turned to Aigis, gasping even harder when she saw something that she didn't want to see amongst the other members of the group.

Aigis' eyes were completely absent of any expression, and the pupils that usually filled her lenses were suddenly gone, leaving a pale colour to fill her dull eyes. There was literally no emotion on her face whatsoever; she just sat there fixed to the TV screen. It was then that they all knew that Aigis was the next person that was the be intended as the next victim of the Midnight Channel.

Before anyone could react to the situation, Aigis quickly rose to her feet and slowly walked towards the static TV with no intention of stopping herself from doing so. Everyone responded to this as they jumped up from their seats, attempting to stop Aigis with an urgent grab of her shoulder by Yu. "Aigis, don't...!" he shouted to her as he grabbed a hold of her, only to for her shoulder to worm its way out of Yu's grasp with an effortless twist of her metal plates.

Yu may have let her slip out of his fingers, but before she could take another step further towards the TV, Kanji and Akihiko quickly jumped in and grabbed both of Aigis' arms with a firm hold. At first, Aigis was gentle to break free from the muscular men. But then suddenly, her movements became more violent, grunting and moaning as she struggled to break loose from their hold. She sounded genuinely upset about it, but they had to keep her on the surface.

"Not you too, Aigis!" Yukiko cried out in a slight panic. Everyone thought his question was unnecessary at first, but when they thought about it, they could see what Junpei was getting at. Unlike Aigis, the previous victims before her actually showed their own reactions towards a recent stimulus that would've triggered the Midnight Channel's showing of their own desires. Aigis, however, never showed anything at all; there wasn't even a news report to reveal her own emotions.

When they all then looked back to the TV screen to look at the silhouette, they could confirm that it was definitely Aigis being broadcasted on the Midnight Channel. But this only arose more questions, and if Aigis were to enter the TV, the situation would be painfully complex for anyone to handle. Up until now, the people that were being shown on TV were figures that played an emotional role in the victims' own lives; for Aigis to be shown made things all the more confusing.

After a short moment of sinking it all in, there was only silence. But when a sharp sound of static filled the room with unpleasant echoes, a familiar and unwelcoming image suddenly buzzed into their view. They could all see the hood of the trench-coat, immediately knowing who was standing before them. They could only look at him with disgusted and hateful looks when they saw the casual position he stood in. "Oh! You're all here!" the trench-coated said in an expression of mockery, expecting some sort of reaction from Yu and the others, "Thought about being sensible for a change?"

"If my hands weren't so full, I'd beat the shit outta you right about now!" Kanji yelled to the boy, angered by the fact that he had to keep a hold of Aigis whilst listening to the boy's chuckle. Yu understood Kanji's feelings, but if he or anyone else made any sudden movements on him, severe consequences were bound to follow. During that time, they just had to stand their ground.

"Well, seeing you all here in the same room is quite communal," the boy said again with his aggravating tone of intimidation, "very cosy. Unfortunately it makes things more difficult for me..." It may have sounded like good news to the group when he said this, but even so, there was something ominous in his voice that made it seem like it wasn't all as promising as they were hoping it to be.

Yu wasn't interested in the boy's own problems at this point. Instead, he picked his opportunity. "Now, I want answers..." he said coldly, walking to the front of the group to confront the hoodlum face to face whilst keeping a short distance away from him, "...we know that the silhouettes we've seen in the TV over these past few nights are spirits from each of our pasts. We know you're the ones that were showing them to us so that you could lure us in...and we've had leads..."

As Yu recalled each piece of evidence, he then remembered the documents Mitsuru presented to the group the night before the memorial day. Piecing the puzzle together, his question was constructed in his mind. He continued, "...Personas and Shadows are one and the same, each with different attributes. For a Persona to revert back into a Shadow, one's own resolve and will must be broken. You know of our Personas; what other reason would you have for putting us into the TV world? You used the silhouettes of these spirits, not only to draw us into the TV, but also as a way of making it easier to revert our Personas back into Shadows. We've had to fight these Shadows, and they were exceptionally as strong as our Personas were. Is this a part of your 'grand plan'? To get rid of us?" It was a mouthful for Yu to say, but after saying it aloud, he felt that he was getting somewhere.

Then, after a long lingering silence, the hoodlum gave a few slow claps of his hands in a patronising applause, shaking his head as if he couldn't believe that Yu had finally got a grasp of something. "Well done!" the boy praised in derogatory, "You were right on the whole 'getting-rid-of-you' thing being only a small part of the plan. But...what was that about 'spirits'?"

The question was asked, and the confusion suddenly filled everyones minds. Up until then, everyone called these silhouettes and ghostly figures 'spirits'. But when the boy asked them with a brief moment of laughter of what they meant, they immediately knew that something was wrong. "Yeah, the spirits...in the TV...the silhouettes." Chie said, as if trying to convince herself that what they thought at first was correct. The boy's sniggering suggested otherwise.

"Seriously? You thought that they were spirits?! Please..." the boy said spitefully, "...what you've been seeing on the Midnight Channel every night were just merely images that were projected by the desires of the people who watch it, which in this case, is you."

"Wait..." Akihiko said with a worrisome look and a pause following after, gradually trying to sink the information in, "...you mean...everyone we saw...we didn't really see them?!" We just...created them?!" Akihiko wasn't the only one who was upset by this; many others who went through the same experience were very disheartened by this news.

"Of course! And you can have a wild guess as to who created them for you..." the boy said, searching for everyone's reaction. The hoodlum was taking so much pleasure in torturing the group with his words, and when he gave them the implication, the ugly combination of shock and anger shone through their hateful expressions. "You were the ones who created them?!" Rise yelled, "That is just sick! You both are twisted!"

"It's a perk," the boy remarked with a snidey tone, "we were very grateful to have been given this power; the power to manifest desires into a false entity. With it, we sought to rob you of your Personas and turn them into Shadows. And to kill two birds with one stone...or should I say a few...the Shadows you wield would've been enough to get rid of at least one of you. You're a persistent bunch though..."

It was all so much to swallow; everyone was at a loss for words. There were no spirits, but images that these two boys created from their own desires. No-one liked this news at all, and some even wished they never interrogated him on the matter. For those who were lured into the TV before, they felt devastated. The farewells they gave to their loved ones were never truly given. They were just talking to artificial beings that were nothing more than a ghost of their own pasts.

That was when Yu looked back to the Midnight Channel, to where Aigis' own silhouette was being shown. He didn't notice it until this moment that Aigis' stance in the TV was very stiff and upright. There was no other expression she had in the body language on the screen; she was just standing straight and as motionless as a figurine or a statue. It was as if the silhouette didn't show anything human-like expressively, like the Aigis in the TV was a robot again.

"Making you give yourself into your own Shadows; we've been successful in that. But retaining that, not so much," the trench-coat spoke again, "but seeing as I have a machine under my control, this should be interesting." They all heard the cynical tone in his voice, and immediately knew he was up to something. But then suddenly, he raised his head. "Orgia Mode, Aigis!" he shouted with a raised voice, instantly striking fear into the people who were standing around her.

Shortly after, everyone could hear a whirring noise that gradually grew louder and more high-pitched; and it was coming from Aigis. When everyone turned to the source, they were immediately drawn to the red discs in her headband. The discs were spinning violently in the sides of her head to the point where the friction caused the metal to glow in an incandescent light. As the discs were getting hotter and hotter, a thick steam developed, and when Yu looked behind him to look at her, she was looking directly at him with her dull and zombified eyes.

Then, without any warning, Aigis quickly freed herself from Akihiko and Kanji with a herculean swing of her arms, pushing them away with a massive force. She suddenly sprinted towards the TV with Yu standing in her way to prevent her from going any further. Yu prepared himself to block the raging android, but when she reached him, she took a firm hold of his shoulders and tossed him behind her with an unimaginable strength.

Fortunately, Akihiko and Kanji were there just in time to catch him from tripping up, which gave Yu time to turn back round to run back to Aigis. "No, Aigis!" he yelled to her in an attempt to stop her in her tracks. But before he could run anymore to her, he was greeted with a quick turn of her body, forcefully halting in his tracks when he saw the gun-like fingertips being aimed straight at him with the spring-loaded magazine cylinders from her wrists reveal the many bullets she had at her disposal.

It was a shocking sight to see; Aigis was probably the most committed and loyal towards her own friends. And to see her turn her own weapons against them was an image that was too much of a shock to even fathom. What made it worse was that Aigis was being forced to do this, and the fact that she showed nothing but a blank expression made it so much more fearful to look at.

Everyone looked back to the boy with looks of hatred. "You son-of-a-bitch!" Junpei yelled to the hoodlum, knowing that he was powerless to change what happened to Aigis. Yukari felt the same, knowing that it was one of her best friends who was turning the guns on her. "Oh, you just wait...you'll get what's coming to you!" she shouted at the top of her lungs, feeling the rage course through her body the more she looked at him. The trench-coat didn't need to say anything to them; the sniggers he gave to the group were enough to give him the satisfactory.

He then walked over to Aigis' side, leaning his head forward so that his lips were close to her robotic ear. "Look at how angry they are..." he whispered softly to her, "...it's not a pretty sight is it? Why live as a human to feel that way when you could live without any emotions to harm you? Go in,, and you wouldn't have to suffer these feelings anymore. The TV is just right behind you. "

As he said this to her, Aigis began to walk back, keeping her mini-guns raised and aimed at everyone as she did so. Everyone knew couldn't do anything but to just prepare themselves for when she would enter the TV. The trench-coat just stood back to watch it all unfold, standing as if everything was going to plan.

They all didn't want it to happen, but when Aigis took a few more steps, the inevitable happened. When Aigis was only a short distance away from the TV, she quickly turned round instantly leaping into the screen to leave the real world. "No, don't go in there!" Teddie shouted to her, even though he knew it wouldn't do any good. They knew they couldn't do anything other than to just watch it all happen in front of them. And when it did, they couldn't help but feel that they had failed again to keep their friends on the surface.

"You bastard..." Yu said, struggling to hide his anger away from the hoodlum in his voice. The boy just held his hands out, as if he had nothing to do with it. "It was her choice, and she chose to do it. I was just here merely to encourage her..." he said with his usual sarcastic tone, placing a casual hand on the TV, "...anyway, I hope you're happy with the information I've given you. Hopefully that should stop the complaining. While you think back on it, I'll be on my way. Good luck..." And with another brief screech of static, the boy vanished in a rapid buzz of pixels, leaving the group with a lingering anger.

Yu knew he couldn't focus on the hatred for too long; time was of the essence, and with every second Aigis was in the TV, the more chance she had of becoming another victim to the tainted world that nestled within. "Let's not think on it now, we have to go after Aigis," Yu said in leadership, "we have to be prepared as much as we can. We might be up against a very strong Shadow if we don't get to her in time."

As everyone agreed, they hurried to the second floor where Mitsuru's dorm room was, making quick visits to their own rooms to gather anything that could be of use for when they jump into the TV again. Weapons, Evokers, supplies, anything that would be of use, they brought with them. If Aigis was to meet her own Shadow, if there was one, the battle would be most difficult; it would be a fight between man and machine.

**And there you go! What's going to happen to Aigis? You can find out in the next chapter when it's written! Anyway, keep reading and reviewing, and we will meet again in the next chapter! Also, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year to all! CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Yosuke: What if a whole nation was to see the ghost of their loved ones at the cost of confronting their own Shadows?_

_Yukiko: That is a worrying thought..._

_?: INTRUDER ALERT! PERSONA-USERS DETECTED WITHIN THE VICINITY!_

_Kanji: Ah crap, that doesn't sound good..._

_Shadow Metis: Ahh, there you are sister..._


	32. 1999

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Thirty-Two_

_1999_

**And hello again guys! How has your day been? Well, Christmas is over and done with once again, we've got the new year to look forward to...and the end of the world didn't happen (not that I believed in it...)! Anyway, Aigis is next...let's find out what happened! LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0808 - Dark Hour - The TV World_

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><p>Another night, another team member taken. And the fact that it was Aigis who was victimised this time made it all the more unimaginable of what the outcome of the operation would be. There were two clear possibilities though; to succeed with some injuries, or to fail with more perilous consequences. The fact that they could confront a Shadow of a machine was also something that wavered the confidence and hopes of the other teammates. Their mission was crystal clear, but their main objective stood as a matter of urgency; return Aigis to reality without coming into any contact with her Shadow. They didn't want to think if she will have a Shadow or not, but if she did, the battle would be more than a struggle; to call it that would be a huge understatement.<p>

They needed all the time they could get, and after gathering their own supplies, not another word was said before they went into the TV; no briefing, and not even a second check on their equipment was made. They just simply had to move as quickly as they could. The preparations went by in a flash, and it swiftly brought them into the TV world without any hesitation.

When they all reached the platform after descending into the TV world's corridor of optical illusions, that was when they all had to stop in their tracks. They knew far too well that just running into the fog blindly wasn't going to help with their search, despite knowing how desperate the situation was. They relied on Rise and Fuuka to find the exact whereabouts of Aigis. Everyone tried to be as patient as they could, waiting as Kanzeon and Juno scanned the vast world that was shrouded in fog before them.

Yu couldn't concentrate all that well; he was still pondering over what the hooded boy revealed to him. He was the only one staring at the ground with a look on his face that made him look half-asleep. "Is everything alright, Yu?" Mitsuru asked, quickly bringing Yu out of his deep thinking. Darting his head up, he felt as if he had just woken up. In fact, the constant traversing of the TV world had taken its toll on his energy, and everyone could say the same for themselves. "Yeah, I'm fine..." Yu replied, "...I've just been thinking a lot..."

"Yeah, I know what you mean. I should've knocked the guy right out when I had the chance!" Yosuke said as he raised his voice with every word. It was clear that he was affected by what the boy told them. He was visited by Saki Konishi's ghost after all; a ghost he created.

"Yosuke, we know how you feel...but just keep a cool head for now," Akihiko said in sympathy, placing a hand on his shoulder, "he'll get what's coming to him, and the same goes for the other guy. But we just have to be patient about this. At least we now know who we're dealing with here."

"It's not just that though," Yu spoke again with arms folded and an unquiet mind, "don't you think their power is more dangerous than what we think it is?" As the question was asked, they all had a brief realisation. Everyone knew that their power to create these images of people brought each of them into the TV consecutively without fail, but when Yu posed his question, something hit them.

He continued, "They have the power to show the victim the people of their past using their own desires as a base structure, and the very thing that lures the victim in is that, the person they create is someone loved or missed. What I'm getting at is...if that's the case, the person the victim sees could be anyone. And it might only be us who are experiencing this, but what about other people besides us? What if a whole nation was to see the ghost of their own loved ones at the cost of confronting their own Shadows?"

The thought of it just deeply shocked everyone, just as Yu was when he first brought it up to himself. They could tell he thought about it a lot, and the troubled expression he donned reflected that. The idea haunted him, and sharing his theory made everyone else feel the same; he wish he hadn't told them.

"That is a worrying thought..." Yukiko said as she gradually dismissed the idea from her mind in exchange for some self-confidence, "...but like Akihiko-senpai said, we should keep a cool head about this." Everyone agreed. This wasn't the time or the place to worry about such things; there was only one thing they needed to worry about, and that was the safety of Aigis.

Turning their focus to the main objective of this operation, they continued to wait for Rise and Fuuka's bearing as their patience began to grow rather short. But before anyone could say anything to hurry them up, Kanzeon and Juno finally found something in the distance of the fog. "We found her!" Rise cried out to the others. As she examined the location, she found a lonely building standing in the lingering fog that seemed to be surrounded by sand.

"Oh no, it's a dungeon," Fuuka explained, confirming that Aigis had already created another danger in the TV world, "and it looks like a beach...wait..." But as she hesitated, everyone knew that something was up; it also suggested that she might know something about where the dungeon was placed. She continued after making herself absolutely sure, "...are those laboratories?"

Then, in an instant, S.E.E.S gave a look of shock upon hearing that word. Mitsuru was taken aback more than any of them. She knew exactly what Rise was talking about. "No..." she said breathily, "...the Kirijo Group's laboratories? In Yakushima?"

"Yakushima? Then these laboratories aren't the ones that were used to conduct the experiment, I take it," Naoto asked as if she wasn't expecting an answer; she knew she was right, "but what have they got to do with Aigis?" Upon being asked the question, Mitsuru was sent back to the years of her childhood, trying to recall the time when the experiment was first introduced.

She was only a little girl back then, but her memory was as clear as day. And it was those memories that brought back the most pain from her past. "During the time when the experiment was being commenced, Aigis was created and transported to the Kirijo Ergonomics Research Laboratory in Yakushima, which this world has undoubtably imitated. In some respect, she was being raised there when she was yet to acquire any human qualities." she explained.

But this explanation only suggested another horrible thought, and as Yukari was the first to bring it up to herself, she needed the confirmation of the others. She thought back to the recent broadcast on the Midnight Channel, and dearly hoped that it wouldn't be true. "When she was just a robot..." she spoke in hesitation, "...you don't think her silhouette was suggesting that she wants to...wants to discard her humanity, do you? I mean...it could be just me...but I thought she looked so...expressionless on the TV..."

And the bombshell dropped, leaving expressions of shock and fear in its wake. It was certain that she wasn't the only one who had the same thought, and there wasn't any sign from anyone that seemed to make any intention of letting it go. Even Yu thought it to be the most possible reason for that unusual broadcast, and quickly reacted to it. "Rise, Fuuka!" Yu called as they turned to the two, "Lead the way! If this is true, her Shadow is bound to show up. We can't let that happen!"

The orders were given and the path was set. Rise and Fuuka dismissed their Personas and quickly made their way towards the dungeon with everyone sprinting closely behind them. The sight of the dungeon was a warning, and walking nor jogging would be enough to heed it. Time was running out; the only thing they could do to stand a chance was to run in the hope that nothing will stand in their way; that is, if the fog wasn't an obstacle enough.

Fortunately the dungeon wasn't too far away, and in a short matter of time, they all started to hear the crunch of the sand beneath their shoes. The sand was unspoilt and smooth with every step; a kind of sand that would slow most people down when sprinting. It was somewhat of a struggle to get used to the drastic change in terrain, but they ploughed on, having no intention of stopping whatsoever.

A short moment after, and the environment changed again as they entered the forest that stood in the middle of the corrupted paradise. The jungle soil hindered them more than the dry sand; there were tree roots and fallen branches that were scattered in random places on the ground for them to trip over if they didn't coordinate their footing properly. The high palm trees and shrubs also blocked some of the light coming from the outside, which made it much harder to see through the vast forestation. Nevertheless, the imitated nature didn't slow them down, and after emerging from the murky green environment, the doors to the laboratories were right there in front of them, standing tall with the dirty lime colours shining off of its polished metal surface.

They weren't able to keep quiet like they did for the previous attempts they made at entering the dungeons. Exchanging any precious time for stealth wasn't an option in this kind of situation anymore. But when they came across these doors, the time they intended to keep was about to be heavily contested.

They all sprinted towards the handleless doors, stampeding with the sides of their shoulders turned towards it. But as they homed in closer and closer towards the double-doors, they could see more clearly that they had underestimated how thick they could be. And as they forced their bodies into them with shoulders first, they then found out. Upon impact, they ricocheted off the metal with a painful thud and felt themselves being rebounded like wasted bullets. Not so much as a dent was made, even when a full group of young adults charged full pelt into them.

"Shit! Why now of all times?!" Junpei yelled in frustration, quickly getting up to his feet despite the agony in his shoulder blade. But he was just as desperate as everyone else was at that moment; some tried charging into the doors again in multiple attempts and some tried to find other ways through the door. But every method they conjured was ineffective. The doors were just too solid for just a few bodies to break through.

"What do we do?! This door's too heavy!" Chie cried out as she gave a few more high-kicks to the door's centre, only to feel the painful sensation in her calf with every jab of her foot. Everyone was puffed out from their efforts, but their determination did not diminish; in fact, within these circumstances they needed to get inside, fast. "We're so close! We just need to get in there!" Yu shouted, trying to give everyone the motivation.

"Don't worry, Sensei!" Teddie shouted from behind at a distance, waving his bear claw to indicate that he had a plan,"I've got it covered!" Everyone didn't know what to expect from Teddie, but they were right to not know; he was a very unpredictable person, especially when most of his plans were so outrageous beyond consideration. But they had to trust him on this one.

A short moment later, and the sudden combination of the ringing of a bullet and the sound of shattering glass emitted from where Teddie was standing. A split-second after, and Kamui appeared from the mist of glowing aqua colours, fixing its eyes on the doors in front of it. Everyone knew what he was going to do, but when they saw the missile-like shape on the Persona's tail, one thought of panic came into their minds; get out of the way.

As they all began to run out of the hazard zone, Teddie immediately began to sprint forwards with Kamui rushing behind him, propelling itself forward with the blazing fire in its tail. The closer he got to the doors, the louder Teddie yelled out in a war cry.

It took him a longer time than he needed to reach the doors due to his stubby feet, but when he finally approached the target, he leaped forward with his belly in front of him, gliding with Kamui into the door, which caused something that everyone was correct to avoid. Upon impact, Kamui's exploding missile acted a massive force unto the doors with such a might that made a painful sound of metal being twisted and bent.

Eventually, as Kamui vanished from sight, the explosion subsided, leaving a cloud of smoke to hide away the doors and what the outcome might have been. Though, when it cleared, everyone looked in awe at what Teddie had done. The doors were forced all the way open, and even the hinges suffered with broken bolts and shredded metal; they were completely battered, and the many dents and scorch marks showed that.

When Yu gave the all-clear, they rushed to Teddie, who was rolling around on his back as he struggled to get back up to his feet. "Someone help me up! I'm bear-y stuck here!" he called out to the others.

As they all picked him up and balanced him, they couldn't help but chuckle and snigger at Teddie's appearance after his attack on the doors. The red, blue and white shades that made up the colours of his costume were ruined from the black burn marks that covered around him. His fur was ruffled and the charred parts of the costume made small holes. "Wha-! My bear skin!" he cried out in utter shock, "Aww, I knew it would've been a bad idea!"

"A bad idea? You got us inside, Teddie..." Yosuke said with a grin that he couldn't wipe off because of Teddie's misfortune, "...just forget about the costume. We'll fix it up once we get back to the dorm." Yosuke wouldn't usually be this kind to Teddie, but despite it, Teddie just took the offer with a smile. It was a huge obstacle to overcome, but after clearing it, they could finally move on.

They took a brief look around the area for anything that could lead them to Aigis. But they didn't need to look very long; there was only one corridor to walk down, and it was laid out for them like a red carpet. This wasn't the only thing they saw though. When Mitsuru carefully examined the area, she could remember the kinds of corridors she walked down with her father and the many scientists he worked with. This corridor was how she remembered it, and it was a perfect imitation that she knew far too well. She could even understand how Aigis could create such a place from her thoughts. Aigis remembered them as well. It was as if everyone had been plunged into the year of 1999. It was all calm and well, until something else ruined the moment.

Suddenly, a deafening sound of alarms rang out throughout the lone corridor of the laboratories. The rapidly-revolving yellow and orange lights flickered across the room, which only reflected more on the danger which they were all in. And if it didn't seem frightening enough, a low robotic voice was heard from the speakers that were dotted around the ceiling. "INTRUDER ALERT!" the tannoy bellowed, "PERSONA-USERS DETECTED WITHIN THE VICINITY!"

"Ah crap, that doesn't sound good..." Kanji remarked. No-one needed to be told that; the signs were too obvious, but it was the classic Kanji way to point things that were clear to everyone. But even so, he was right, and they needed to move.

At this point, everyone's confidence was slowly draining. The corridor was presented before them, and all they could do now to get any closer to finding Aigis was to follow the row of doors down to the last one; the doors that stood to the side glowed a slight green colour whereas the lonely one that stood at the end emitted the same colour but more vibrantly. It was this door they ran to.

But when they finally arrived at the very end of the corridor, another surprise put them in a halt position. As Yu reached for the door, a large burst pried it open, swinging it with such a force that it created a giant crack in the wall next to it. After the sudden opening was a body that was pushed back by the same unknown force causing for it to land on its back with a thud, followed by the sound of metal scraping against the marble floor.

They looked down at the fallen body, and instantly found the white metal-plating that formed the figure of a slender young woman. And as they looked to the face, they were utterly shocked by who they were looking down at. From the short blonde hair and the pale skin complexion that the girl had, they knew that it was Aigis which they were looking upon. "Aigis!" Ken called out to, watching as Yu and Akihiko came to her side to lift her back up to her feet. She looked completely exhausted, but she still had the energy to give them a response, opening her eyes into a squint.

"Hey, Aigis...are you okay?" Akihiko asked as he tried to get a look of her face. She could hardly move, but she barely managed to turn her head to the senpai, gritting her teeth when the strain in her mechanical neck was hurting her. "M...Met..." she mumbled, struggling to form her words in her speech, "Meti...is..."

"What is she saying?" Fuuka asked, trying to pick out the bits Aigis had difficulty in saying. But her attention, as well everyone else's, was then turned to the door which Aigis was thrown through. No-one knew who or what was through there that could down an Anti-Shadow weapon, but as Koromaru scampered to the front of the group, he darted his eyes straight through the door, growling when he sense some danger in the distance.

"Yeah...there's something through there..." Rise said with a growing fear, sensing the danger up ahead that Koromaru did, "...and why do I get the feeling that it's a Shadow...?" Everyone would've guessed as much, and it would've been the last thing they wanted to guess. If it was a Shadow that was up ahead and it was the only one, then it had to be; it was Aigis' Shadow.

It may have been shocking news, but they had a window of opportunity waiting behind them. They could avoid the Shadow and bring Aigis to safety just by walking out through the doors in which they came through, and that's what they intended to do. With that, they rushed towards the broken doors, helping Aigis to keep her balance.

But then the tannoy spoke again, "LOCKDOWN INITIATED!" And as it inundated its bellowing tone unto the group, they looked at the broken metal in front of them, finding that the bits and blocks of heavy titanium started to move. The pieces teetered and jumped as if the ground was shaking, and the more they watched the phenomenon, the more violently these scraps and chunks acted in such a way.

Then suddenly, the pieces leapt up from the ground, rushing towards the dented remains of the metal doors. And like a jigsaw puzzle, the pieces fitted together, filling the holes and scars in the doors, and with it, the dents returned themselves to its former smooth surface. The hinges were fixed with the bolts that it lost; everything that was first broken down, came back together as if by sorcery. It was as if they were watching their efforts being played in reverse. "What the...?" Junpei said in disbelief after seeing the doors coming back together, "...aww, what the hell?! Is the Shadow doing this?!"

No-one had thought about what Junpei said, and even applying this thought with Aigis's Shadow made it much more frightening to see what it was capable of. But they were trapped now, and there was only one thing to do to guarantee themselves a way out; defeat the Shadow and to help Aigis face her 'true' self.

"Well...we're in it now..." Yu said as he turned to face the door in the furthest part of the corridor with Aigis holding onto his shoulder, "...this Shadow clearly doesn't want us to leave just like that. We're going to have to do this like we always do." And with that, they all made their way towards the door, carrying Aigis with them without straining any of her limbs too much.

Entering through the door, another corridor lied beyond it. The only difference was the lighting; there wasn't any. The whole corridor was completely pitch-black and the only lighting they could see was from the previous room behind them and from the room they are still yet to walk through.

As they made their way through the darkness, the light in the room that called out to them with an atmosphere that warned nothing but danger. They could just feel the Shadow up ahead, like a coldness in a winter wind. The dark didn't help at all either; it was a shade of black they've never seen before. It felt unreal to them, like this kind of darkness should never exist.

Eventually though, they walked through the doorframe, emerging from the shadows and into the even more unsettling green light. They helped one another out of the small doorway, and as they did, they took a look around at the scenery they were standing in. The walls and floors were polished to a white sparkle and even the equipment inside were shining in the light. There were wires everywhere, and they all connected up to devices which most of the group have never seen before. It was all Kirijo Group technology, and most of S.E.E.S knew what each piece of equipment was what.

But as they looked beyond the high-tech gadgets, they found a figure standing in the centre of the room. The dark shrouds and the distorting effects that were being created by the black mists that enveloped around the figure made everyone know that it truly was a Shadow. Upon closer inspection though, this Shadow didn't look like Aigis at all, with the exception of the face. This Shadow was undoubtably female and had jet-black hair, as well as a face that looked much more paler than Aigis'. Also, in contrast with Aigis' colour scheme, this Shadow's metal armour was also black, and donned a small helmet and metallic skirt that had black and violet colours. But a Shadow wouldn't be a Shadow without the golden-yellow eyes that light up in the dim lighting. They then realised that this Shadow was also of a android figure, but it wasn't Aigis.

"Metis?!" Yukari shrieked upon realising who the Shadow was. The Investigation Team were confused as well as completely shocked, but as for S.E.E.S, shock was the only thing they felt. "Metis? Who's that?" Yukiko asked, just as dumbfounded as anyone else in the Investigation Team.

"Ahh, there you are sister..." the Shadow spoke with its discordant tone in time with Metis', "...did that hurt? And if so...physically or mentally?" After hearing her voice again, Aigis shook her hanging head which only made everyone turn to her in the hope that she won't say what they think she's going to say.

"Metis...d-don't...please..." Aigis muttered with a weak and croaky tone, unable to lift her head up to her Shadow. The Shadow just stood there, proudly chuckling at the fallen android with a inhumane grin in the corner of its lips. "I can tell you're hurting...it's in my nature to understand how you feel. It's a pointless function to have isn't it? To feel...to hurt...to suffer." As the Shadow explicitly explained the reason for it to even exist, everyone finally knew why. A robot to feel emotion; the feelings that Aigis had were relatively new, and as far as S.E.E.S could remember, the most experience she's had with emotion was when she felt sadness and devastation.

Metis continued, "You watched me cry, didn't you? You felt that same pain I did...you should know...you are me after all, and I am you. Isn't that right 'me'?"

"Stop it...stop...!" Aigis yelled, feeling the strong emotions course through her wires like blood through veins. This was it, she was on the brink of saying the words that Shadows love to hear, and Yu quickly reacted. "Aigis, she's playing mind games on you! Don't let her beat you! Just don't...!"

But then Aigis snapped her head up to Metis. "YOU'RE NOT ME!"

**Hot diggity-dog! Aigis said it! Looks like things are getting tense now! Anyway, I hope you all had a very good christmas and I wish you all a Happy New Year. And for those who have already hit midnight, 'Happy New Year' to you all! If you want, leave a review and if you are new to the story, you can follow it if you want! Until next time guys! CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Shadow Aigis: What good do feelings do?! They do nothing but hurt! And I don't want that!  
><em>

_Akihiko: Taking Aigis was a big mistake, Shadow!_

_Chie: You use your fists... and I'll use mine!_

_Shadow Metis: LEAVE ME ALONE!_


	33. ErrorCode: 7H3 TRU3 53LF

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Thirty-Three_

_ErrorCode: 7H3 TRU3 53LF_

**Hey guys! How are you all doing? Welcome to the thirty-third - _"HAHAHAHA...HA...HAHA..."_ – ...huh? What the hell was that? Why is my computer talking to me?! - _"Hello Fidelity. Writing again?" _- Wha...who's there? How are you talking through my computer? - _"You better write about my victory in this chapter...if you know what's good for you..." _- A Shadow? Metis? How are you...? Ahh dammit, I forgot! Why I wrote you to have this kind of power I'll never know, but you'd better stop! - _"HAHAHA! You brought this on yourself..." _- I'm the writer here! I can fix this! Okay guys, I'll get back to you later, this Shadow's just decided to crash the party here! I'll hold her back as much as I can, but for now, LET'S GT-R - _"Let's finish this!"_**

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><p><em>0808 - Dark Hour - The TV World - The Ergonomics Laboratories_

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><p>"Argh!" Yu and Akihiko cried out, unable to control their balance as they were thrown into the group by a surge of strength in Aigis' arms. Everyone managed to catch the two before they fell to the ground, but with the speed they were being thrown at, it made it quite difficult to do so. But preventing the two from falling was the least of their worries.<p>

Yu and Akihiko were the most worried out of the group, having felt the typical Anti-Shadow weapon's strength after recovering at such a sudden rate; they never expected it, and neither did the rest of the teammates. But even knowing that made it all the more worrying, and they all didn't want to believe what they were thinking.

They looked around the area for Metis, only to find that she had disappeared from the area completely. But for that to coincide with the Aigis' retaliation only made their disbelieved theories more and more promising, and when they looked towards Aigis, there was no more room for doubt. Metis may have vanished from the scene, but only physically. And after hearing Aigis say those taboo words, it only came down to one thing.

They fixed their glare on Aigis, watching for any other sudden movements she might make. She was still, almost frozen in place with her back turned to her friends; nothing was happening, and the painful silence that lingered made it all so ominous. It was clear that something had occurred in Aigis to act in such a way. "Ai...Aigis?" Yukari asked unnervingly, "A-Are you okay?" No one dared to come near her; everything about her wasn't right about her at all.

Another pause, and there was still no response from Aigis. "Aigis...?" Yu called for her, taking a courageous step forward to get a better look of her condition. He didn't have any intention to go any further than that one step he made, especially when he eventually found something out of the ordinary coming from below the android's feet.

A black mist ascended from the ground where Aigis was standing, and it grew thicker as it wrapped around her titanium-plated body, as if it was caressing her with an evil touch of false comfort. Everyone could feel the frostbiting air that was enveloped in the darkness, feeling it grow colder as the mist began to cover the floor that became denser than the surrounding fog.

The mist started to spread along Aigis' body, and soon after, even she was emitting the dark aura from the cracks and splits in her torn metal-plating. Her crystal-white armour became tainted by the darkness, shrouding the pure and innocent image she once had behind the blankets of obscurity.

But then, as Aigis finally turned her head round to everyone, a disturbing and saddening look in her eyes shone the water in her tear-ducts. The lighting around her made blotchy patches of shadows show up on her face, as if she lit up her face with a torchlight in the darkness. But the main component she had that struck the most fear in them was the golden eyes that marked the signature of the Shadows, which was more than enough proof of what Aigis had become. If Metis had disappeared and Aigis' behaviour had dramatically changed, it was absolutely certain. Aigis had become her own Shadow; the Anti-Shadow weapon becomes the Shadow itself.

"Don't make me..." Aigis muttered, trying to prevent her tears from overwhelming her, "...don't make me go back up there...I don't want to feel anymore...I just want to be a machine again, so I wouldn't have to suffer..." Everyone could see that this wasn't Aigis at all; she had been hiding this feeling all along, and she didn't need any stimulus to feel this way. This inundation of emotions was given to her from many experiences in her past, and Yu along with others came to realise that. From the death of Minato to the present day, her growth in humanity had reached tenfold, and it was hurting her.

"Of course. No wonder her Shadow...Metis, was so different than before..." Fuuka said, sensing the outpour of human emotions from Aigis that made her come to a realisation, "...Metis was tame in the past because Aigis had only just developed human qualities...but she's been human for over two years now...that must've made her more detestable of emotions, thus creating a Shadow that was born from her pain of having them. Metis must've been a growing as a Shadow within her for a long time to act like this..."

"This 'Metis'..." Naoto said as she pieced the key points in her head, "...the reason why she looks so different from Aigis...is it because Aigis distanced herself from her acquired feelings so that she could just remain as a robot? Was Metis the manifestation of Aigis' humanity?"

"Yes," Mitsuru answered, "Metis was born when Aigis wished to rid herself of her own human feelings. This was around the time when we were told of Minato's death. She wanted to return to the laboratories to be decommissioned. And then Metis was born, like she was split from Aigis and created a personality of her own using Aigis' discarded emotions. It now looks like this is the case here...and it's haunting her."

At this point, Aigis was on her knees, holding her chest as if she was clutching onto a wound. But she was an android; she couldn't have any wounds apart from the rips and scars in her metalwork. She did have a heart though, and watching as she ached, they all realised that she was, in fact, holding her heart, wincing in agony from the overwhelming emotions. But Yu saw something else in this hurtful sight.

"She's fighting it though..." Yu said, bravely finding the will to approach her without hesitation. He had to tread carefully, for any sudden movement might agitate the Shadow; the Shadow was like an animal in this case. When Yu knelt down to Aigis, he placed a hand on her, feeling the icy coldness of the darkness that spread across her white plating. The warmth of his hand also created condensation on the metal, revealing the frost that filled the cracks and dents in the armour.

"Aigis..." he said calmly, trying to get a look of her hidden face. He waited for a response, and upon calling her name, he could hear a soft sobbing choking her. "Yu..." she replied in a stammer, "...h-help...me..." She was struggling at a great deal, and because Yu knew that she was desperately trying to fight off her demons, he found a window of opportunity; there was a chance she could break free of her Shadow without putting others into danger. "Aigis, that's it. Just hang in there..." Yu said in encouragement, squeezing her frozen shoulder gently for comfort, "...but don't just fight it though. You have to face it as well. You can do it."

Aigis' head then suddenly snapped up at him, glowing her yellow eyes stronger with an angered stare. "N-No! I don't want to be human anymore! DON'T FORCE ME TO!" she yelled in his face, quickly standing up to her feet and knocking Yu away with a rapid push of her arms, "What good do feelings do?! They do nothing but hurt! And I don't want that! NOT...ANY...MORE!"

She then crouched down into a foetal position with a rapid calibration of her limbs, causing a loud whirring sound to screech into everyone's ears. Her headphone-like discs were also beginning to spin ferociously, creating a white incandescent glow that burned with Aigis' rage as the steam flowed out from her cranium; it was like being faced with an irritated bull, but one with a dark purpose.

As Aigis was placed into position, the dark mist from the skies and shadows began to creep closer to her, slowly drawing and absorbing the energy into the humanoid. The darkness seeped into the cracks like water, and even started to fill the injury marks and gashes with its healing properties. Soon after, her armour was completely repaired with the help of the Shadow's ominous gathering of strength. And this only made matters worse.

With every second, the caliginous energy being forced into Aigis started to speed up its process, which not only made the introductions to the Shadow seem more closer than everyone thought, but it also seemed to make Aigis suffer internally, feeling the dark power coursing in her, battering her mental states for full control of her mind. When it achieved this, the helpless cries and screams of the android were the next things they could hear. They never heard such pain heard from Aigis before, and when they did, it was greatly heart-wrenching.

The shouting and yelling grew louder and louder as the dark forced itself into Aigis faster and faster. It was as if a volcanic eruption was imminently about to explode from a distance; it was bound to happen, and no human nor thing could interrupt it.

Eventually, when the collective mass of darkness was gathered, Aigis thrusted her arms, legs and head outwards, causing an atramentous tidal wave to burst from Aigis' body, followed by a robotic and static cry that signalled for the Shadow's appearance. It was not just the hurricane of darkness that was giving everyone the chills, but Aigis' cry changed the atmosphere dramatically; her yell was as fearful as a banshee's.

When the tenebrous mist finally subsided, everyone came out from their braced positions and opened their eyes to see what had become of Aigis. And as they did, they beheld a sight most horrible and something that struck them to the core. They've seen the entrances of Shadows many times before, but the same process never ceases to utterly shock them. The culprits had succeeded in prying another Shadow out, but there was still a chance to change all that. This was quite routine for them after all, so the objective was as clear as ever.

They looked unto Aigis' Shadow, and to them, it was everything nightmares were made of.

The Shadow consisted of, not one, but two bodies; one of them being Aigis' own, and the other being Metis'. The horrible aspect of that, was that these two bodies were not separate, but they were conjoined on their backs like newborn twins. It hovered in the air as if it was an underwater god, and the blue sky sundress that Aigis wore along with Metis' magenta butterfly motif shirt, floated calmly with the Shadow. Metis' headband was lowered onto her eyes like a visor and Aigis' blonde fringe grew longer, hiding her eyes in the Shadows, despite everyone seeing them glow its disturbing yellow light in the pupils. Aigis held a golden lance of an arcane design; the same spear her Persona, Pallas Athena owned, and her armour became more robotic-like, being fitted with more bolts and plates in exchange for her humanoid look. But as for Metis, her body didn't look metallic whatsoever; her body was similar, if not, exactly like a human's. Metis was crouched into a ball with her head down, almost as if, she was in the same emotionally-wrecked state as Aigis was only moments ago. Aigis on the other hand, just looked empty, like she was a lifeless robot again.

BGM: Rock It - Sub Focus / Shadow – Persona 3 OST

"I am a Shadow...the true self..." the Shadow spoke the words everyone foresaw, mixing its abnormal and frightening blend of Aigis', Metis' and its own cacophonous voice, "...why was I made to own emotions? ...Why was I made to be human at all? ...No robot is meant to feel! ...No android is meant to feel this conflicted! ...NO MACHINE...IS MEANT...TO CRY!"

There was only one option now, and that was to fight; they could do nothing else but that. Rise and Fuuka quickly responded to the situation, summoning their respective Personas with a swift grab of their Evokers and a rapid pull of the trigger. Kanzeon and Juno materialised from the navy infernos and prepared themselves for another scan by command of their hosts.

As they searched the Shadow's body for anything that could be of use in the battle, they immediately found the strengths and weaknesses, although finding very few of them and when they scanned for information on the spells and attacks the Shadow specialised in, things were already looking worse when they then moved their scans over to the team. "Okay guys. This Shadow is strong against Pierce Attacks but weak against Electricity...but..." Rise explained, being cut off mid-sentence by her hesitation to give the bad news.

"We're being put at huge disadvantage everyone..." Fuuka said before Rise could finish, "...because the Shadow consists of mostly Metis' abilities, it specialises in Wind, Ice and Strike Attacks. Some of you might have to resort to weapons if you need to." Hearing that kind of news lost a good margin of confidence from everyone, but they couldn't put this off; Aigis' safety was in their hands now.

Just as Fuuka finished explaining, four large nearby wires that were damaged and laid on the floor suddenly sprung to life, lifting their chunky rubber insulation into the air. At the ends of these wires, the metal inside them began to spark and sizzle with a wild electric light-show. Suddenly, the wires homed in towards Aigis, inserting themselves into the holes that were made in her sides. Upon coursing the electricity into the now-empty android, the manic dancing of the electric currents instantly began to envelop Aigis'. Everyone knew by now that this Shadow had the power to manipulate any object around her; the wires weren't just moving with a will of their own.

The electric current that was covering the whole of Aigis' body looked very intimidating, and the Shadow wouldn't have just done this for nothing. There had to be a reason for it. The electricity looked fierce, and if any metal was to touch it, the amount of volts could be hazardous. "Wait...isn't electricity it's weakness?" Yukari asked Fuuka, somewhat convinced that there had to be some trick to it.

Fuuka found this odd as well and quickly got onto giving the Shadow a second scan, and when she did, she felt surprised by what she found. "Oh! Looks like we completely missed it..." she said sheepishly, "...it looks like not all of the Shadow is penetrable. Aigis just seems to be the shield of the Shadow; Metis is the part which is weak to it. The electricity around Aigis is probably just a deterrent."

"Well, that's awkward..." Akihiko commented, looking at the humongous wires to see what they could do to stop the flow of voltage, "...we're not crazy enough to attack the Shadow if it's going to fry us every time we hit it. Looks like we'll have to take care of these wires first before we can do anything else."

"In that case, some of us will have to keep it distracted while some of us get rid of the wires." Yu planned with quick reactions, looking to everyone for agreement. And with a nod of their heads they split up, trying to make the two groups as balanced as possible. To destroy the wires, there was Junpei, Koromaru, Naoto, Yosuke, Ken, and Yukiko to tend to it, having the sharper weapons amongst the whole team. And for the distractions, Yu, Mitsuru, Akihiko, Chie, Yukari, Teddie and Kanji were the ones to make it happen whilst the wires were being cut.

It was a problem that they could only attack Aigis for that moment in time, but they needed to act on it, and anything they could do to weaken the shield would be a great help for when all the electricity would be cut.

"Come on, Kamui!" Teddie shouted out, clicking the trigger of the Evoker for the second time to bring out Kamui from his bear psyche. He may be a clumsy teammate at times, but he knew that it was totally dangerous for either him or his Persona to touch the Shadow in the way it was now. So he knew a spell or two was in order.

With a grizzly look in his eyes, Kamui glided towards the Shadow, giving a few spins of its body to whip up the cold air that the darkness around the Shadow was made of. As the Persona kept spinning cheerfully, the cold air began to show its white colours of frost in its wings. And when it collected enough frozen power, it fixed its glare upon the Shadow, causing a Bufudyne spell to catch the Shadow in a bulky block of ice, freezing it in place, and even managing to cut off the electricity flow. "Go for it guys! You have a chance!" Fuuka shouted out, hoping that someone will come forward to take the opportunity.

This gave Akihiko a chance to deal some damage with his fists and without having to expend a lot of energy to summon his Persona. By the sight of the ice melting fast though, he had to hurry to get this one shot. As he sprinted up to the giant freezer, he brought a leather-gloved fist into his hand, cracking his knuckles as he smirked. "Taking Aigis was a big mistake, Shadow!" he yelled, confident in his own strength.

Approaching the Shadow, he leapt up into the air, holding his fist behind him as he prepared himself to swing it. And with immaculate timing and with stunning precision, he threw the fist, forcing his knuckles into the heavy pillar of ice. The massive cracks in the ice reflected on the impact Akihiko made, watching them travel through the sides of the ice. A short moment later, the ice suddenly shattered, bringing Aigis down with the broken fragments.

The electrical current flowed around her body again, but the damage was dealt to the shield, recoiling when the vibrations in Akihiko's punch forced its way through the ice. As Metis became exposed due to Aigis' fall, Akihiko found another opportunity to deal another one of his attacks onto the Shadow

Swiping his Evoker from his holster, Akihiko brought it to the side of his lobe, firing the summoning bullet to bring out Caesar onto the battlefield. He jumped back to clear himself from the danger area, leaving his Persona to do the job that could deal a lot of damage. "Ziodyne!" he shouted in command to Caesar, confident that the electrical-attack would expose the Shadow's weakness.

Heeding its host, Caesar raised up the longsword in its hand and held out the globe in the other, calling forth a sudden bolt of lightening to come crashing down onto the Shadow with a violent crackle. But as the attack was being called upon, the Shadow immediately got back up, only letting the lightening manage to land on Aigis, who only absorbed the attack using the electrical current that already protected her.

This wiped the grin off of Akihiko's face. "This Shadow just has to ruin everything..." he said to himself, slightly frustrated that things didn't go as well as he hoped. But conveniently, just when Akihiko was about to make another move to redeem himself, the Shadow suddenly flinched again. At first, he found this odd, but when he looked over to the other group, he saw that the first of the four wires were already cut. And then, the grin came back to his face, satisfied when the electric flow around Aigis began to weaken. "Wow! Nice timing guys!" Rise said in praise.

As this happened, Metis was exposed again and the next person to make a move was Yukari. "Go Yukari-chan! Metis is open!" Fuuka cheered her on. Unlike most, if not, the rest of the group, she didn't have to worry about the danger of electrocution since she had a ranged weapon at her disposal. With her bow and arrow, she began her barrage of steel-tipped destruction, letting the arrows fly one by one with her swift pulls of the string that flexed the string grooves. Every shot had to be precise, but because Yukari was running while aiming, it made things a lot more difficult for her.

Unfortunately, despite running to spots that gave her very few clear shots, she wasn't able to land a single shot onto Metis; only the shield suffered the shots, and the arrows that poked out of the metal didn't look like they did much at all. It did one thing though, and it angered the Shadow. Watching as the Shadow rose into the air again, Yukari waved her hand behind her, trying to find another bow in her quiver. But there was nothing left.

"Oh no...now?!" she shouted to herself, desperately searching for at least one arrow. But there was still no ammunition to find. And when her use of the bow and arrow was over, she had to turn to the Evoker.

But as she reached for her Evoker, she looked to the ground, finding a large black shadow lingering over her, freezing her hand before she could even lay a finger on it. "Yukari, watch out! She has a chance!" Rise shouted to the frozen Yukari, desperately trying to get her out of the dangerous situation. She knew it was the Shadow that was towering over her, but the size of it just struck fear in her heart like other Shadows couldn't before.

When she looked up, she didn't just see the face of Aigis, but immediately after, she saw her mechanical fist, hurtling towards her like a juggernaut with its victim about to be caught in its path. The bouldering hand came so fast that she didn't have any reaction time to make a move to get out of the way.

Just at the last second, Yukari jumped to the side, narrowly missing Aigis' fingertips by a mere fraction of an inch. In doing so, she grabbed her Evoker. But during her jump, she lost her grip on it, accidentally letting it go, and eventually losing it. Also, what made matters worse, Yukari lost her footing when she attempted to land on her feet, falling to the floor with a sprain in her ankle. "Yukari's down! Someone help her!" Rise called on everyone, worried about the imminent attack that she could foresee in front of her.

Sitting up, Yukari struggled to get back up to her feet; but it was only a matter of time before Aigis was ready to make her next move on her. The shadow it created returned to block the light from Yukari, and as she looked up to Aigis, she looked much larger than before, as if she was looking up to a tower that was arching over her. And then the Shadow's other hand came into view, making Yukari fear for her life as it curled up into a fist. "Yukari-chan, get out of there!" Fuuka called to her in dire urgency.

Without warning, the fist suddenly charged forward, heading straight for the fallen Yukari. She was completely open, and the only movement she was limited to that she could use to avoid the attack was to just shuffle herself out of the way; but that was a slow process, and no matter how fast she was going, there just simply wasn't enough speed in the shuffling to guarantee her safety. She knew there was nothing else she could do; she knew that she just had to endure the pain that was about to be brought to her.

But then, just when Aigis was about to complete her move, the fist suddenly stopped when it reached Yukari's feet. At first, it was startling for Yukari because of how close the hand was to inflicting some major damage onto her. It was just a question of what stopped it, and when she looked above her, she could find a Persona holding the Shadow's knuckle with what seemed like a samurai's double-blade as it slowly carved into the metal. "Nice save, Chie!" Fuuka praised, relieved that nothing serious happened to Yukari.

"Don't worry, Yukari! I got you covered!" Chie said confidently, running up from behind Yukari. Knowing that it was Chie who summoned her Persona, it was clear that it was Suzuka Gongen who managed to block the attack, despite the fist being of a more significant size to its own body. As the Shadow found it difficult to withdraw its fist from the Persona's blade, Chie decided on her next move. But because the electrical current was still hazardous, she couldn't perform any of her martial arts skills; Suzuka Gongen was the only one out of the two who could touch it without receiving a large number of volts.

"You use your fists...and I'll use mine!" she shouted to the Shadow, holding out a hand to her Persona in command, "Give 'em a taste of God's Hand!" And with that, Suzuka Gongen nodded as it understood the orders. Upon Chie mentioning the name of the attack, everyone knew what she was talking about, and knowing the amount of damage it can deal, they were all hopeful for it to be successful.

Still holding onto the Shadow's knuckle like keeping a leash on a misbehaving dog, Suzuka Gongen drove its double-blade into the metal, far enough so that the whole of the blade was fixed into the deep empty shell. Then, when the timing was appropriate, the Persona gathered the strength in its arms before giving a vigorous swing of its unique blade to throw the Shadow's fist away so that it could move on to the next stage of the assault. Fortunately, the fist was thrown with a massive force that the Shadow couldn't manage to keep its balance, which was a big plus for Chie.

Then, the Persona raised its arm into the skies, reaching towards the clouds that started forming above the Shadow; no one needed to think a lot to know what came next. Beyond the clouds was a way to heaven, but in this case, it was also a way for God's Hand to come crashing down onto Aigis.

But there was one thing wrong with the attack, and when the hand from above brought its fist down onto the Shadow, the attack just created a loud noise that sounded like a rock hitting a metal wall; nothing more. In fact, the beautifully composed assault didn't do anything at all apart from just that. It then occurred to Chie, and Rise was there to remind her. "Chie, it's strong against Strike Attacks, remember?" she said, making Chie slightly frustrated without intention. God's Hand was a Strike Attack after all.

Just like with Akihiko though, she didn't need to feel ashamed; the amount of time it took for her to set up and complete the attack was more than enough for the other group to use to their advantage. Before Chie could feel sheepish on her futile actions, the second of the four wires was eventually cut, recoiling the Shadow into a stunned position. This brought Chie back into high spirits, knowing that not all of efforts weren't completely wasted.

Now, there were two wires down, and two wires to go. At this point, a hopeful Kanji takes his stand against the Shadow, clutching his blunt shield with a confident pose. "Alright Rokuten Maoh, let's get to work!" he yelled out with a cocky smile, clicking the Evoker's trigger when he pointed the barrel towards the bottom of his chin.

As Rokuten Maoh appeared through the indigo mist, Kanji feasted his eyes on the large flame-esque katana that the Persona held with dexterity. He then looked back at the Shadow, still finding that it was still stunned from the wire-cutting. "I really shouldn't feel the need to savour the moment. I can resist just this once, there's a friend that needs saving!" he shouted to himself, thrusting a hand forward to send his Persona after Aigis.

Responding to his telepathic orders, Rokuten Maoh ran past its host, holding its sword in its deadly grip. With every stomp, the Persona sent wobbling vibrations through the ground that, if any more force were applied, would be similar to shockwaves; it made no difference to the Shadow though. But Kanji had intentions that would change that, and when Rokuten Maoh neared towards the shield, it brought up its signature katana and dropped it back down with the unimaginable strength in its muscular arms.

When it was all going well though, his misfortune struck again as the Shadow caught the Persona's blade in its hand, hardly managing to inflict any damage apart from a few scratches in the palm of its hand. And more unexpectedly, after Aigis turned the attack into a clash, she suddenly head-butted Rokuten Maoh, transmitting the pain the Persona felt to its host, Kanji, who instantly felt a sharp strike in his nose. Cupping his face in his hands, he felt like he was having a nosebleed. But when he wiped his nostrils, he found nothing on his hands; it was all a thing of the mind upon feeling the agony something from the mind experienced.

"Owowowow!" Kanji muttered to himself, feeling as if his nose had been broken. He turned to the Shadow with a more angered look; he began to show the bloodshot colours in the whites of his eyes, and the tension in his muscles made his body shake in rage. " Right, that's it! You just pissed me off, Shadow! If you think you're getting away with that, just wait until you see how wrong you are!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, straining his voice with the amount of power he put into it.

Dismissing Rokuten Maoh back into his enraged psyche, Kanji picked his shield up and clutched it with a grip that nearly put dents into the flimsy copper. And when his fury reached its peak, he began his sprint, shouting as he made his way. Kanji was like a freight train at this point; he charged in his tracks, having no intention of slowing, let along stopping for second thoughts. No would could do anything to interrupt him, and by the time someone thought it would be a good idea to do so, he was already leaping into the air, attempting to get a hit on the Shadow with his blunt weapon.

Kanji's jumping skills may have been a sight to see, but with every moment he came closer to the Shadow with the hulking metal shield, the more the people watching came to realise something. Aigis was covered head to toe with electricity and Kanji was about to deal a blow with a copper-plated weapon; it then hit them, Yu being the first to spring it to mind.

"Kanji, wait! You'll get –!" Yu called out to him, hoping to stop him before he could get any nearer to the Shadow. But the thing that cut him off mid-sentence was the loud noise of electricity going haywire, screeching out the zapping sounds when a large thud indicated that he was too late to change Kanji's mind. When Kanji slammed his shield into Aigis, the volts were charged into him, revealing flashing images of his own skeleton as he tried to squirm out of the danger. It was like a fly entering a zapper light, only there was a comical yet helpless cry coming from Kanji the more the electricity entered into his body. "Ooh! That's gonna sting!

Fortunately, because of his strength against electricity attacks, he didn't have to suffer for long. And suddenly, a feeling of a cold cord-like metal wrapped around his waist. "G-G-GET MET OUT OF HERE!" he cried out, feeling the voltage shake his throat with an amusing wobble. Eventually feeling the tug of the cord, he was pulled away from the Shadow's metal surface, returning to the ground and slamming down on his back.

Upon landing back to earth, the shock of the voltage immediately opened his eyes to what saved him from a crispy fate. He looked up towards what seemed like a Persona, and upon finding the feminine build and the lady-like armour standing out with the red mask on its face, he then knew that it was Artemisia who saved him; Mitsuru's Persona. At first, he thought he was gazing his eyes on his guardian angel.

The group ran over to him, looking down on his sooted face with an expression of relief to know that he was okay. Though, every inch of his body was covered in black burns, he made the occasional twitch now and again because of the remaining shock in his muscles, and his beach-blonde hair turned into a singed grey. The static in his hair also frizzed up in spikes with each individual root standing up on itself; he was in such a state, that he couldn't act like himself anymore. "Hanging in there, Kanji?" Yu asked him, feeling somewhat that Kanji brought this on himself. He was well known among the Investigation Team for just diving into something without even a moment's thought.

"Hey, hey, hey guys..." he said with an uncontrollable chuckle, gesturing for everyone to quiet down when no one spoke, "...I'm a chargrilled beefcake! Hahaha! A...chargrilled...beefcake! Get it? Hahahaha!" He was clearly out of his mind, but it was good to see him in such high spirits, even if it wasn't the most appropriate time to start giggling. Kanji was always the one to take his misfortunes to a whole new level of comedy, but with the situation they were in, it was no laughing matter. "Teddie, concentrate on healing Kanji. I'll take it from here." Mitsuru ordered the bear, receiving a mock-salute as she turned back to the Shadow with Artemisia still standing on the battlefield.

Before she decided on her course of action, Mitsuru examined Aigis for the best possible move she could make that could deal the best amount of hits. All she needed was a strategy, but that wasn't a problem for her; she's had to keep to tactics for most of her life.

Her time for thinking had to be cut short however, for the Shadow was about to make its own decision. Mitsuru did have an attack in mind, but when a large pool of red began to form under Aigis' hovering body, she decided to wait. But when she looked more closely at the red puddle that slowly formed, she knew that it wasn't just the usual Shadow's warning; it was an indication that it was the attack Aigis was planning for. More importantly, it was an attack she endured many time in the past. The thin blood-red colours on the ground which then started mixing itself with a hint of dark black were the two blending colours that spelt out an impending disaster. "I'm picking up some strong readings, Mitsuru-senpai! This is gonna be big!" Rise shouted in warning to Mitsuru, unaware that she already had an idea in mind.

With her quick-thinking and calm reactions, Mitsuru raised a hand to Artemisia. "Mabufudyne, Artemisia!" she commanded, witnessing her specialty spell casting unfold before her. As the Persona casted its magic, Mitsuru intended it, not for reasons to assault the Shadow, but to create a defensive barrier around her to block the incoming attack. Sticking to its orders, Artemisia held out its own hand, causing thick blocks of ice to appear before Mitsuru, piling them up and extending the barricade for that much-needed protection.

As the ice wall was complete, Mitsuru waited behind it, and keeping her eyes on the Shadow so that once its attack was complete, she could quick jump in at the chance; the frozen barricade may have been built with a rock-solid thickness, but the ice was crystal-clear enough to look through, acting as a protective window for Mitsuru to use to her advantage.

Without a moment's notice, the Shadow let off its assault, causing the pool of red to suddenly burst out from where Aigis was hovering, causing a rippling shockwave of crimson to head towards Mitsuru. The rings of bloody colours were pulsating from the source of the attack, and by the speed they were travelling at, the forced they carried could match that of a tidal wave. It was just as Mitsuru thought, for Pallas Athena owned this skill, and the Shadow inherited it. It was the Akasha Arts skill; an attack Mitsuru remembers well to be deadly.

The full-on assault didn't waste any time to deal its damage either, rushing into the towering wall of glaciated ice, pummelling the blocks as the multiple rings charged into them wave by wave. Upon being battered with several punishing bombardments of the Akasha Arts, the walls instantly suffered huge internal cracks from top to bottom every time each ring made contact. Despite the barricade having an incredibly large thickness, Mitsuru could feel the force of the assault through the ground, nearly shaking her off of her feet.

The barrage spanned over a painfully long period to time, and by the time the Shadow ceased it, most of the blocks that made up the wall shattered upon every impact; all that was left were a few blocks still standing in front of her, covered in cracks and splits that lost some of its shine and strength. But that didn't matter though. The next stage of her strategy was set for her.

She ran up to the blocks, veering from side to side to get the best angle for what she was planning to do. Her eyes looked between the top of the blocks and the position of the Shadow, searching to gain some precision. When she was satisfied with the position she was sprinting in, she approached the ice chunks with confidence.

There were three remaining blocks standing in front of her, and for her next move, she will need an exceptional amount of power in her thighs and high-heeled boots. As she finally reached the ice, she lifted a foot up from the ground, keeping a steady balance as she turned her body slightly to the side. Then, swiftly and cleanly, she thrusted her foot forwards, slamming it into the first block of ice and causing it to slide along the ground at an astounding speed.

Fortunately, Mitsuru's carefully prepared precision paid off, managing to kick the ice right in the centre, not only sending the chunk in a straight line that guaranteed her a direct hit, but it didn't swerve nor turn in any other direction; everything about it was precise. And when it homed into Aigis' body, it shattered upon making contact with her. The icy fragments ripped through the metalwork like butter, sending a warning to the Shadow that more was to come. "That was great, Mitsuru-senpai!" Fuuka cheered her on, "Try the same thing with the other two!"

Whilst Aigis was trying to regain her balance, Mitsuru quickly moved on to the second ice chunk, briefly readying her accuracy before sending it over to the Shadow with another strong jab of her heel. Afterwards, she headed straight over to the final ice pillar without spending anymore time checking if the second block was able to inflict anything on Aigis; the sound of ice smashing against a titanium surface was all she needed to know if it did.

When it came down to the last ice block, Mitsuru took her aim with a sharp eye. But instead of fixing her target scope on the Shadow, she turned her eyes to the remaining two wires that the other group were hard at work cutting away. She could see the expression of great difficulty on their face, but the solution lied in both the ice and the direction its being sent in.

"Everyone, clear the way!" Mitsuru shouted over to the faraway group, immediately high-kicking the pillar after giving her warning call. After hearing her, they turned their heads to where she was calling from, only to find there was a huge hulking boulder of dry ice coming their way at a blinding speed. Shocked to see such a bludgeoning thing stampeding towards them, they ran away from the area in a blind panic, finding any spot that could hide them from potential hazards if the giant ice block was to ever violently scatter its shards upon colliding with the wire.

As they all hid away, ducked, or whatever form of safety they chose to protect themselves, a loud crunching sound along with a breaking noise echoes throughout the battlefield, making them all tense up in the fear that anything might hit them. But after a moment of hearing the the sounds dying in the distance, they stood up from their braced positions, looking back at the damage that Mitsuru done and finding the tears and icicles in the rubber.

Since Junpei was nearer to the wire, he took the liberty of making the blow that would finally cut it; seeing as how it was in such a fragile state, even a slight swipe of a rapier could finish it off. But Junpei simply didn't care whether he would use a small portion of his energy or go all-out with it for the satisfaction. When he picked up his claymore though, he didn't hesitate to swing. "Three down, one to go!" he yelled out, bringing his oversized sword down onto the wire like an executioner grinning his face off.

The claymore sliced through the dense insulation and the copper strings that made up the metal wire inside, making the cutting count to three. And in the instance, the Shadow flinched as if it had been deeply wounded in the side of Aigis' body, and the electricity flowing through the armour was beginning to look dim and seemed to lose a very large margin of its strength; to keep itself alive on its last wire, it had to flash its current on and off, trying not to expend its last bits of power on staying active.

Unlike the other two times though, the Shadow didn't recoil or experience a stun upon losing its third wire. Instead, when the other group looked on the final wire with a relaxing smile on their faces, their expressions didn't last very long; the Shadow looked onto them with its blank expression, and even though everything seemed calm, they were wrong. They suddenly found a light emitting from the corners of their eyes, and when they looked towards the source, their instincts immediately told them to run.

Right underneath Aigis, there was a small ring of fire that erupted from the marble flooring without expectation. It may have started with a flame that could flicker in the same way a candlelight would, but when the fire began to rapidly grow, they knew that something big was about to happen, and it would bring a lot more than danger if they didn't make a break for it. "Don't just stand there guys! Run!" Fuuka cried out, hoping that they knew what was about to come.

After they came to the realisation within a few seconds later, the panic returned, and they began their sprint for cover, looking behind themselves occasionally to check on the status of the attack. They had only started running, and the flames had already grown into a burning inferno along with the ring spreading out slightly from the small space it once took up. They knew what they were in for; the Heat wave. Another one of Aigis' skill sets.

The flames started to spin in its circle formation, acting with the whirlwind that turned it into a fire tornado that hid the Shadow's body from view. But shortly after, the inferno forced itself outwards, causing a loud explosion to emit a surrounding wave of fire to head towards the group; this attack specialised in attacking opponents that were spread about the battlefield, and since they all ran in opposing directions to one another, this blazing assault was perfect for the situation.

No matter how fast they ran, the incoming flames approached them faster, and it was becoming more and more certain that it was going to land on at least one of them. But when they looked behind them for one more time, there was still a hope of saving themselves. Beneath the layer of fire, there was a small space in which they could duck under without burning themselves; and that's exactly what they did.

Making a jump for it, they landed on their fronts, holding their heads in a braced position to cover themselves. And as the fire flew right over their heads, they could feel the intense heat burning their backs through their winter clothing They daren't look up or even move; the fire was just too close for comfort. Even Junpei and Yukiko were grateful that the fire didn't touch him; they may be the ones that specialise in fire-related attacks, but it was a heat they just couldn't handle, and the Heat Wave was an attack they remembered to be a Strike-Attack.

But when the attack subsided, those who were looking in the same direction found Yu in the distance, running towards the Shadow when some of the flames were still slightly blocking their view of him. Behind him though, they could see Odin, one of the many Personas he is entitled to, gliding with him and gripping its golden spear in both hands with a deadly intention. "Woohoo! Go Senpai!" Rise cheered Yu on, watching with a rapid heartbeat as he heroically leapt into the action.

When Yu reached the appropriate distance, he jumped into the air with his Persona, raising his katana above his head as Odin brought its spear above its own. The two then came crashing back down to the earth, bringing their respective weapons down in a vertical slice. They weren't aiming for the Shadow though. Instead, the final wire that was screaming to be targeted was in their sights; but it wouldn't be long until the inevitable happens.

The Persona and its host eventually returned to the ground, slashing the wire with the power they gathered in their momentum. At first, they felt like they were trying to cut through a cement brick. But as they looked on what their efforts had done, Yu was very satisfied with the result, looking down at the two halves of the wire and seeing the sparks flying off the thin copper wires.

After disconnecting Aigis from the power sources entirely, the Shadow jolted violently, screaming in agony when the electric current flickered out of view, revealing the scars and wounds everyone, so far, inflicted. Aigis lowered her head in exhaustion, hanging her limbs as if giving in to the power of only just half the group. Yu knew that Aigis was just a shield of Metis and quickly stood up straight with Izanagi to take this opportunity.

"Odin! Ziodyne!" he called out to his Persona with a raise of his open hand. Odin nodded to the command in respect, jumping over Yu to hover up to the Shadow's height. It kept its spear to its side, to concentrate on the attack Yu called for. Tapping into its magical capabilities, Odin curled up its body, gathering the power within itself. And after a brief moment of sapping the energy from the air, the Persona lifted its head and threw out its arms and legs, causing a collection of grey clouds to stir in the skies with lightening sparks appearing occasionally with a crack of thunder.

Suddenly and unexpectedly, an enormous flash of lightening crashed down from the murky sky above, striking Aigis with a voltage much greater than what used to be its protective deterrent. At the point of impact, Aigis cried out in sheer pain, helplessly tensing her limbs as the electrical assault made contact with the metal armour. Yu knew he chose his attacks well; the Shadow was weak to electricity after all.

Completing the attack, Yu dismissed Odin back into his psyche and jumped back to a safe distance. Where he was standing before was now a hazard area; the Ziodyne spell was incredibly powerful, and it even brought Aigis into a still formation that made it quite ominous to see. But after a long period of looking out for sudden motions, the Shadow finally made some movement; and it was in a way that made everyone feel overwhelmingly relieved. The Shadow suddenly dropped back to the ground from its hovering position, and even though it landed on its feet, its legs gave way, causing it to fall onto its knees. But when it didn't seem promising enough, Aigis, standing on her fragile knees, dropped her weight forward. And like a collapsing tower, the Shadow fell to the ground on its front, making no effort to catch itself; it just laid motionless with its head turned to the side like a broken toy.

Watching this happen as one huddled group, everyone took a sharp intake of breath, and relieved themselves of the tension that built up in their muscles with an achingly sensation. They survived all of the operations before this one, but even so, they found this fight a most difficult one. The silence of a Shadow never sounded so nice, and the thought of succeeding another mission really comforted them.

But after this long silence, everyone immediately found a problem. The Shadow had fallen to its defeat and the fight was over; but that was what it seemed to them in the beginning. When they took a closer examination of the Shadow, they were having trouble knowing what the predicament was. "...It should be over now, right?" Ken asked, somewhat confused as everyone else was about the situation. Then it occurred to them out of nowhere, and the more they dwelled on it, the more they came to realise. The Shadow wasn't evaporating like the previous ones, and the real Aigis wasn't to be seen anywhere. "No..." Yu spoke, sending himself into a deeper thinking so he could reach an answer. And then, when he found Metis lying on Aigis' body, twitching her body, it hit him. "...everyone get back!"

Suddenly, as Yu made his urgent order, a loud clanking sound was heard from the Shadow, instantly turning everyone around to heed Yu's command. After finding an open space, they turned back round to the Shadow with weapons and Evoker in hand at the ready. And finding the source of the mysterious noises, everything was quickly explained. Witnessing it unfolding though, was something that brought the panic back into their nerves.

Although the part of the Shadow that resembled Aigis was downed, every one of the group had completely forgot about Metis who was conjoined to her sister. Until now. The clunks and clanks that echoed throughout the area came from Metis' struggle to break free from the joining of her body to Aigis'. She gradually and vigorously wormed her way out, ripping away the welding that took some of her sister's metal. It was like watching a horror film revealing a gruesome turn of events; or rather, it was as if they were really in one.

Stretching away from the metal and ridding itself of Aigis' dead weight, Metis emerged as her own body, taking the role her sister took up until now. As the Shadow stood up on its own two feet, it turned around to everyone, holding its hands nervously under its chin with a hanging head. No one knew how to react; there was nothing hostile about Metis whatsoever. The Shadow just stood there in its coward-like stance with a slight tremble in its hands.

This only happened briefly though. And when anyone least expected it, Metis gave a rapid lift of her head, throwing her arms out as an unsettling high-pitched scream let itself loose from her lips. Out from her back, wings suddenly sprouted in a rapid growth, showing the pink butterfly motifs that mimic the same designs on her skirt. The wings were significantly bigger than the Shadow itself, and even though they were newly born, the strength they had were phenomenal. They made have been a beautiful sight to look at, but it belonged to a Shadow. And as it began its ascent back into the air, the flapping motions suggested that Metis had a new-found power to take the battle to a new level.

"LEAVE ME ALONE!" Metis cried out, still owning the voices of Aigis and the Shadow counterpart, "Surely you would understand me...surely you would understand the suffering! You're all humans too! So why...? WHY DO YOU WANT ME TO FEEL THE SAME PAIN YOU DO?! WHY DO YOU WANT SOMETHING INHUMAN TO SUFFER WITH YOU?!"

The Shadow was in such a state of distress, and it even led it to call on another of its abilities that were left in the dark. From a lifted position, Metis' head suddenly snapped back down to the group. This wasn't the instance of their intimation though; the startling sound of crashes and explosions that came from around them was the thing that made them frightfully skip a heartbeat.

The walls, floors and ceilings imploded without expectation, and the technical equipment began to break away from the wiring and the bolts that nailed them to the floor. A large hurricane circulated around the room, causing everything that was metal and elemental began to ride the violent gales. Everything began to spin around the battlefield, and it was all done by Aigis' Shadow. The reconstructing of the large door they broke into was just a demonstration of what it was truly capable of. It was just chaos; everything inanimate became manic, as if they were wildly going out of control with a will of its own.

"Come on guys!" Fuuka called to everyone, "What we just fought now was a shield, but Metis is completely exposed now! We just need to beat her!" The work they went through just to rid themselves of the shield was bad enough, and hearing that they needed to fight Metis made it all the more difficult. But in the confidence of what Fuuka said, they recovered their motivation and quickly thought out their strategies in a short amount of time they could see possible.

The scenery may have been off-putting all of a sudden, but as they fixed their resolve, Naoto and Koromaru took their stand with one another. Koromaru was an intelligent dog and when Naoto was slightly stuck for ideas, he shed some light on her, jumping into her arms with a nod of his little puppy head. It was strange for her, but after catching Koromaru, Naoto immediately knew what to do.

She reached into one of the two holsters she owned and picked out to Evoker, careful not to grab onto her revolver. And as she brought it up to her forehead, her index finger impatiently fired the bullet, erupting blue flames from the ground around her feet. Amongst those flames, Yamato-Takeru appeared in front of Naoto, waiting for her command.

Before giving her Persona any orders, Naoto climbed onto its back, sitting on its shoulder with the pooch still wrapped securely in her arms. "Head straight for it!" she shouted as she pointed her finger towards the Shadow imperatively. With that, Yamato-Takeru leapt into the air with the detective and the hound on its back, using its dynamic flying skills to gain height as it hovered into the mouth of the tornado where the Shadow was waiting.

It was a complete stab in the dark for Naoto to bravely wander into the hurricane blindly, but trusting in her Persona's agility, they glided into the chaos headstrong. Along the way Yamato-Takeru weaved in and out, avoiding all the things that were flying in random directions. It was a tough mental challenge to endure, but eventually, they reached Metis, and the next stage can commence.

Naoto lifted her hand as she gave her telepathic orders to the Persona, which in turn made Yamato-Takeru's hand raise with hers, lifting its short katana above its head. And quickly, the sword came back down, attempting to strike the Shadow with a vertical slash. But before Yamato-Takeru could land the attack, Metis caught the blade in her hand, hearing a bang and a scraping when the two metals impacted on one another.

Gaining the upper hand, the Shadow firms its grip and watched the Persona struggle as it tried to reclaim its katana. Instead though, Metis pushed the hand that caught the sword, forcing it into Yamato-Takeru's head with a powerful jab of its fist. The punch was powerful, and Naoto could feel it through the agony her Persona was in. Metis did the same move again, only this time more harshly, and it even brought Naoto to cover her face away from anymore punches, even though it wouldn't do any good. "Uh-oh...Naoto-kun's in trouble!" Fuuka cried out, warning everyone else of the situation.

After two successful hits on Naoto, Koromaru decided to act on it, squirming himself loose from her grip and planning on where he should go next. In front of him however, there was clear path from Yamato-Takeru to Metis, finding that the Shadow's arm was still holding onto the Persona's blade. In the hope that the positions of both parts doesn't change, he quickly jumped onto Metis' hand and began to sprint on his four legs across the arm that surprisingly felt like human skin. Fortunately, it didn't take him long before he reached the wrist, and gritting his canine teeth with the kunai knife in between, he looked around the Shadow's upper half of its body, finding two targets that he found to be suitable places to attack.

First, he ran across the arm whilst trying to find an appropriate jumping distance to go from. And as soon as he was running along the elbow, he then leapt off, homing in towards Metis' head and turning his head to the side to gain some momentum for when he makes his swing. He only had a short time of preparation to do this; the power of his jump was so great that it brought him to the Shadow's head in no time at all.

As he glided closer and closer to Metis, he growled in anticipation, but only for a brief moment before the head was just inches away from him. He then swung his head with a powerful flick, cutting the blade deep into Metis' visor that created a huge gaping gash that might have done more damage to the face than to the protection the visor promised. The Shadow inadvertently lost its grip on Yamato-Takeru's sword as a result of Koromaru's attack, breaking Naoto free of its captivity and allowing her to complete her interrupted move. The Persona's katana was raised again, and without another pause for precision, it gave a vertical slash of the sword, landing the attack again on Metis' visor and creating another rip in the protective screen that partially ruined the butterfly designs.

Koromaru, however, stayed with the Shadow a little longer, landing on Metis' shoulder so that the next target would be set up for him. Fixing his sights on the right wing of the Shadow, he carefully positioned his feet and readied himself to pounce. And when all precautions were taken, he leapt forward, nosediving towards the butterfly wing using the same techniques he used when he attacked the head.

Like slicing through a velvet sheet, Koromaru gave a horizontal slash of his knife, timing his attack just right to create the scar in the wing and fitting his body through the hole to make his exit. "Good job, boy!" Rise said with a babyish tone in praise to Koromaru. Upon creating a giant wound in the wing, Metis flinched as if feeling the knife being driven into her skin; the hole also created a bit of difficult in keeping in the air for the Shadow, losing some height and resorting to using up more energy to flap her wings faster, which the group used to their advantage.

When the pup scampered back to safety, Yosuke and Junpei made their way towards the Shadow with their claymore and knives tight in their grip as they ran. Although they were sprinting in the direction Metis was positioned in, they weren't planning on attacking her directly with just their weapons; what they were aiming for, was to hitch a ride on a stable chunk of debris. Unfortunately for them, the only safe bits of the broken machinery were situated near the bottom of the twister, finding that, if they were to aim for anything higher than those platforms, the risk of injuring themselves in the process would be very high.

So, to make-do, they jumped on two separate blocks of damaged metalwork that didn't acquire a lot of jumping power to reach up to them. But once they were coordinated and reasonably balanced on their feet, they were in business, fixing their eyes on the Shadow in case of any sudden attacks it might pull to waver them from their tactics.

As soon as Junpei landed on his feet, he held his oversized sword with both hands, struggling slightly when he felt the drastic change in the centre of gravity carrying the weight of his sword to his side. Keeping his balance though, he readied himself to swing. What he was aiming for, he had to be patient with. For the duration he stood on that platform, he had to watch out for passing-by metal parts; he did so, not to avoid them, but to use them as projectiles for his punishing assault.

When scraps of machinery, both small and large, gradually came within his path, Junpei held his sword behind him before giving giant swings that resonated a sharp sound of colliding metals. Instead of using the sharp parts of the blade, he used the flat faces, turning the sword from a tool of weaponry into a club for sport; the small chunks of metals and elements served as his ammunition. With every smack of broken debris, the pieces of scrap metal hurtled towards Metis with a vicious speed that could match the velocity of a fired bullet. Some shots hit the Shadow, and some others were a complete miss. Even though the barrage of attacks didn't work out that well for Junpei so far, Yosuke was here for him in such a situation.

Whilst Junpei fended for himself, Yosuke proceeded to execute an attack of his own, taking out his Evoker when he cemented the strategy in his mind. And when he brought the barrel to the side of his head, his index finger clicked the trigger before he even thought about doing so. But cutting to the chase of things, Yosuke summoned Susano-o from the navy mist that poured from his lobe.

Materialising behind its host, the Persona looked to Yosuke for his orders. But because Yosuke had already had the plan fixed in his mind, it didn't have to wait long before the action could start. With a fierce point of his finger, the commands were transmitted from mind to manifestation, and the plan could finally carry itself out.

Agreeing to its instructed procedure, Susano-o glided away from Yosuke, appearing from the outer parts of the tornado to prepare itself for how it was going to go about fulfilling Yosuke's orders. But after a brief moment of scanning the condition of the twister, the Persona lifted its head up with clenched fists. Suddenly, the circular saw-like weapon that floated around its head began to spin furiously, and when it reached its maximum speed, Susano-o lifted it from its body and used its gloved hands to throw it into the gales.

As this happened, the saw was sucked into the vortex, keeping its velocity so that it could cut through the blocks of metal with ease and speed. This was meant for chunkier scraps of metal that might been seen as a potential threat for those who would dare enter the hurricane the same way Yosuke and Junpei did. Though, in a short matter of time, the saw ripped, slashed and sliced through the giant metallic remains, leaving only medium-sized, somewhat harmless pieces of shrapnel that contributed to the final stage of the assault.

Sending Susano-o back into the subconscious, Yosuke felt a lot more comfortable with the way things were going now; his confidence had hit the ceiling, and even considered himself to have become cocky when he gripped his kunai knives with a casual gesture. This immediately reminded him of what happened to Kanji moments ago, and suddenly felt the need to shake off the feeling before he could be met with the same misfortune, turning his attention to the task at hand.

Because of his efforts reduced the humongous metal chunks to halves and thirds, there were projectiles to attack with, and just when Junpei was on the brink of exhaustion, Yosuke decided to join in. He used any means he could to parry the broken pieces, giving wide swipes of his knives and fast jabs of his ill-practised roundhouse kicks to knock the shrapnel into the Shadow's body. With every bit of metal launched into Metis, the more damage they were dealing; not only to her body, but also to her wings, creating bigger scars that increased the difficulty of flying for the Shadow.

They could've kept dealing the same attack to no end, but when the Shadow finally decided to bring an end to it, Yosuke and Junpei knew that they had to evacuate the area; the only problem was, they didn't know how to get down. And worse yet, an urgent Rise rung in their heads. "Get down you two! Metis is getting ready to attack!" she shouted, feeling the power growing within the Shadow when the frequency charts on her digital screen reached a high number of strength.

Unfortunately, Rise's cry for immediate escape only served as a distraction for Junpei and Yosuke. And as they were searching for a way out whilst Rise was yelling in their minds, they quickly found each other in the distance. That was, until they noticed that they were getting closer and closer to each other. It was only when they noticed they were about to collide when they suddenly felt their weight crashing into one another, feeling their internal organs being crushed against their ribcages as if they drove a car headfirst into a wall.

After the collision, they were surprised to find themselves standing on the same scrap of metal, unable to stop hugging each other to stop the panic of falling off the teetering platform. No one could've seen a more unlikely couple hugging in fright; Yosuke and Junpei were probably the most conscious of their manhood amongst the whole group. But considering they were close to falling off an unstable piece of thin metal at a great height, it was the only thing they could do to comfort themselves.

This only made them sitting ducks, rendering themselves helpless as they spun around with each other in a dizzying viennese waltz. And when they looked towards the Shadow, they found a hazard developing when they found its head being lifted to the sky; they were in dire need of an exit. A lime-green light of dim visibility began to form around where the two were spinning, and even though they were a moving target, the jade colours followed them. When Yosuke tried to had a good look at what Metis was trying to do, the colours gave him the answer; it was an attack he knew far too well, having been a specialist in wind-related attacks for over a year. It was indeed the Garudyne spell, though Yosuke was quite confident that it could do much worse than he think it would, even though he was someone who was capable of blocking these kind of attacks.

Sending themselves into a blind panic, they resorted to crying for help to the others, but only when they could hear the Shadow's Garudyne whipping some of the collective wind from the vortex and condensing the gusts into a swirling cyclone. "Brace yourselves, you two!" Fuuka cried out, feeling Metis edging ever closer to casting her wind spell. It was too late for any of the two to respond though, instantly feeling the sudden burst of gales that swept them both off their feet, causing them to fall from the slim debris and begin their descent towards the ground.

It was a total inconvenience at first, but finally free from the dizziness and the unnerving feeling of falling, Yosuke and Junpei decided to take the opportunity to make their counterattack. Before returning to the floor, they quickly drew out their Evokers, bringing out Susano-o and Trismegistus from their minds with the crack of the summoning bullet. They knew the counterattack had to be quickly dealt with; the ground wasn't too far from them.

So with a reach of their hand, the orders shifted from mind to matter, sending their Personas with the psychic orders given to them; by themselves, they can create trouble, but together, they can create utter mayhem if everything goes to plan. Though, when the Personas made their way, the two hit the floor, but more softly than they originally thought; they just accepted that what they thought was high was really and magnification of their own fear of heights.

Rubbing away the pain in their backsides, they watched as Susano-o and Trismegistus worked together to conjure up their assault with the strength of dual powers. The two Personas ascended to Metis' eye-level with a vicious dust whip in their trail. And facing the Shadow, they lifted an arm towards it, causing two coloured spheres of elemental energy to flow into their fingers; Trismegistus holding the fiery-orange sphere, and Susano-o holding the spring-green sphere. Threw grew in size as it gathered strength from the will of the Personas, and by the time they were beginning to feel heavy in their hands, Susano-o and Trismegistus waited for the right time before throwing them towards Metis.

Upon impact, the green sphere let loose a vicious whirlwind, calling forth the same Garudyne spell to form around the Shadow with a force that countered the direction of the wind the larger vortex was flowing in. Then, the orange sphere followed suit, and as the blazing power within it collapsed inside the mouth of the wind spell, an Agidyne attack broke out within the tornado. This wasn't just a random combination of magic; these were two elements that were essential to create the concoction of a devastating attack.

As the wind and fire mixed together, a scintillating fire twister roared from inside the Shadow's destructive hurricane, trapping Metis in its circulating inferno which caused massive inflictions of burning around her body. They could hear the Shadow yelling in agony as the flame vortex continued to grow. And because of the air that was being sucked into it, the oxygen acted as fuel for the fire, which contributed not only to the time Yosuke and Junpei had to get back to safety, but also in dealing more damage than what they originally thought. "Whoa, just by the skin of your teeth!" Rise complimented the duo, astounded by their efforts; especially when they narrowly dodged an attack that a few of the group could avoid.

Junpei and Yosuke quickly made their way back to safety, watching Yukiko and Ken sprint past them with their fan and spear ready in hand. Seeing that the Shadow was still being set alight, they hurried themselves before the flames could have a chance to extinguish, and quickly began their assault as soon as they felt that they were in close range of Metis.

Yukiko was the first of the two to commence her attack, flourishing her fan to catch the Shadow's attention. And when Metis found her, she began to strafe sideways, searching for a good target to use the fan on. Unfortunately for her, when she took a lot more time than she needed to make her move, the flames within the twister eventually died out, as well as the wind that simply didn't have the strength of counter the Shadow's whirlwind; because of this, Metis was free of the heat and focused her aim on Yukiko. Yukiko knew now that she had to attack sooner or later. But already being later than it needed to be, she was putting herself at a huge risk.

Still unable to find a target beyond the powerful gales, she began to struggle; but the Shadow was about to make things far more difficult for her to fulfil her achievement. As Metis slowly lifted a hand at Yukiko, a violet-purple mist began to engulf her hand in its thickness, and as it stirred in the palm of her hand, small bubbles gradually began to form. Again, it was an attack Yukiko was familiar with from her experience of fighting other Shadows, but knowing that the attack was being conducted by Aigis' Shadow, she could tell the attack was going to punish her even it merely touched her.

When the Shadow jolted the hand that overflowed with purple energy, a shape of a arrow projectile suddenly launched itself from the violet mist, permeating the steel tip with the magenta bubbles creating the trail as it glided in the air. It was just as Yukiko thought it was; the Poison Arrow. Usually, she would only find one arrow being shot, but after the first arrow shot and missed, that wasn't the end of it.

After the first arrow stabbed itself into the ground near where Yukiko was standing, her instincts suddenly alerted her to go from strafing to sprinting. As she ran, she could feel the vibrations moving the ground as each arrow fell into the marble floor, and when she noticed that they were getting more and more violent with each shot, she knew that they were getting closer and closer to her. Eventually, when one shot hit the ground, inches away from where Yukiko was, the ground shook so hard that it knocked her off of her feet, dropping her on her front and causing her to be rendered helpless when she found difficulty in getting back up to her feet.

Quickly rolling onto her back, Yukiko tried to push herself back up on her feet, only to be knocked back down again by the quakes that trembled the floor as another fury of arrows came crashing down near her. Although, all of the shots missed, they created a circle formation around where Yukiko was laying down, and left virtually no room for her to escape without having to risk herself of poisoning. Now, she was trapped, becoming a stationary target in the middle of the ring of arrows that served as the Shadow's archery target; all it took was just one precise shot. "It's going to attack again! And it will poison Yukiko if it hits! Someone stop Metis!" Fuuka shouted again in dire urgency.

Metis then raised her mist-consumed hand, and when the poison bubbles began to froth, it acted as an indication, telling Yukiko that the final arrow was inevitably about to be fired. All she could do was to cower on one side of the ring of arrows, hoping that the arrow will hit the remaining space within the circle.

But, just when the arrowhead was forming in Metis' hand, a miraculous safety net came in just in time before the arrow was shot. A lightening bolt suddenly struck down from the heavily clouded skies and landed on the Shadow with a deadly voltage that made Metis recoil in agony. That electrical bolt was the difference between life and death for Yukiko, and when she looked looked to her saviour, she was astounded.

She looked to her right, seeing Ken with the Evoker pointed to his forehead. She noticed that his Evoker was smoking from the barrel and when she looked to what was behind him, she knew why. Kala-Nemi's arms were raised to the heavens; Yukiko vaguely remembered that Ken was also a person capable of Ziodyne spells. "Whew...that was a close shave, Ken-kun!" Fuuka complimented, relieved that nothing catastrophic happened to Yukiko. When Ken looked to her, he gave a heroic nod of his head with rewarding smile on his face.

Suddenly, Yukiko heard a quiet sound of slicing next to her, along with a noise that sounded like twigs and sticks breaking in half. The sound then died out in the distance, but when she looked for the cause of it, she could find it flying right in front of her. It was the blunt shield that Kanji owned, and like a boomerang, it curved around the area until landing in front of its owner. She then looked to her side, finding that a small number of the arrows that were standing in the ground were slashed from the bottom, finally giving Yukiko a way out from the death-circle of poison.

And as she looked beyond the arrows, she could see Kanji in the distance, still suffering from the burnt grey hair as well as the small flame that let off a string of smoke that he didn't seem aware of. "Well, would you look at that!" Kanji shouted over to Yukiko, feeling a sense of redemption shower over him after being electrified as a result of his single-mindedness, "Looks like I'm not completely useless after all!"

After giggling to Kanji's self-remark, she waved to him in gratitude before picking up her fan and brushing herself off. She stepped out from the arrow circle and returned to her sprinting. Fortunately, because of Ken's Ziodyne, the Shadow had been critically stunned due to its weakness, which made things all the more easier for Yukiko; she ran close to the Shadow with ease and eventually found her designated targets. There were many holes in Metis' wings, but with a fan that donned miniature blades on the tips, she knew what to do.

Carefully placing her aim and calculating the amount of power needed, Yukiko held her fan in a frisbee position, fulfilling all prerequisites before finding the suitable timing to make her attack as effective as possible. And when she was satisfied with her preparations, she gave a huge swing of her arm, letting go of the fan halfway through her throw.

The fan cut through the air with a ferocious rapidity, and the slicing could be heard as it travelled through the fog. The attack was so blindingly fast that, as soon as Yukiko let it loose, it slashed through the Shadow's first wing in a flash. And soon after that, the fan suddenly appeared from the second wing, creating a wound as it flew away from Metis.

Ken witnessed this with awe, but when he found that the fan was speeding towards him, he quickly reacted as he took up his spear. Again, because of the quickness the fan was going at, Ken had to execute his swing with speed and precision. Fortunately though, because of the slight panic he had in trying to do all of this in one go, his spear managed to parry the fan into the opposite way, as well as to keep the fan spinning on the way back. Travelling in a similar path, the fan made it's way back to Yukiko, cutting through the second wing in a different spot and emerging from the first wing, leaving a gash in the velvet butterfly patterns before returning to its rightful owner.

Reclaiming her fan, Yukiko looked to the Shadow to see what her efforts had done, but after hearing the deafening scream that left Metis' lungs with a painful resonance that rung in the air, she felt completely satisfied with what she dealt. She watched as the Shadow struggled to keep itself up into the air, flapping her wings until she hadn't had the strength to continue it. And as a consequence, the fatigue forced it to stop, dropping itself to the ground with a loud thud of her knees hitting the marble. The holes Metis suffered were just too wide for the wind to be kept underneath her wings; the rips in the flesh were very much beyond repair.

Drained of it's energy and having no strength left to even lift its own head up, the Shadow knelt down in submission, hanging its heavy cranium to the floor with extreme exhaustion. This caused the tornado to lose its momentum and eventually lose all power altogether, dropping the bits and pieces of debris to fall to the ground. And as Metis made herself into an open target, everyone looked to Rise and Fuuka for the risk assessment; seeing the Shadow in such a weak state, and finding no sign of incoming attacks, they all found a clear path to execute their favourite group attack.

"She's been knocked down! Go get 'em!" Rise cried out in confidence, darting her finger to the Shadow as if taking over Yu's role as the leader of the group. Yu could only chuckle to his ecstatic lover; he was just as happy to see the end of the fight as much as she was, and as he looked to everyone else, every face had an expression of self-assurance, almost as if a giant weight had been lifted off their painfully tensed shoulders. All of their work up to now had contributed to the defeat of the Shadow, and with one final attack in mind, the end of the battle was nearing.

"Let's do it! All-Out Attack now!" Yu yelled in command, beginning his full pelt towards the Shadow with a furious power in his step as he went. Everyone followed suit, gripping their weapons with a tight grasp as they ran with him. They all knew that this would be the critical blow to pry Metis away from Aigis, and as their victory was in their sights, they let out their war cry as an act of foreseeing the Shadow's unfortunate fate.

But then, when they eventually came within close-range of Metis, her head suddenly lifted to them. And just when everyone thought it was over, the Shadow sharply inhaled the air into its lungs and immediately let it all out into an ear-bludgeoning scream. Carrying so much power, the chilling, bombarding cry shook the air in its punishing sound-waves; everything that was caught in its path suffered in its brutality, including the whole group who instantly forced themselves to stop when the scream entered their fragile ears. Some held their lobes in agony, and some fell to their knees when the yell shook their minds like a rag-doll.

The All-Out Attack wasn't fulfilled this time, and the defensive attack the Shadow made on everyone scrambled everyone's minds due to the noise that was filling their eardrums which disadvantaged them; no one could hardly think. Yu, being the closest to Metis, suffered the most out of everyone in the group. But attempting to take his mind off the violent noises, he tried to concentrate on his own deep thinking, Eventually feeling brave enough to take one of his hands off one ear, he quickly reached for his Evoker, bringing it up to the side of his head as soon as he grabbed it. With a rapid click of the trigger, Yu summoned Izanagi onto the field after materialising the Persona in a sapphire mist that flowed from his subconscious.

After Izanagi solidified into view, Yu then had to take a leap of faith; in order to continue, he had to take the other hand off his other ear, and knowing that the attack required him to get closer to the Shadow, he even started to have second thoughts on committing to what he wanted to do. Metis was screaming everyone's minds out; there was simply no time to make any small changes to the assault.

Cementing the course of action in his head, he gathered the resolve to take his hand off his ear, exposing himself to the inundating sounds that no one would dare come into earshot with. He grabbed his katana with both hands and made his sprint towards the Shadow with Izanagi following behind him. With every step closer to Metis, the scream grew louder and louder, vibrating Yu's ear canals to the point when they were beginning to rattle uncontrollably. Going headstrong though, Yu fought against the sound-waves, fixating his eyes on the Shadow's head that was leaned forward in front of him.

Finally, after braving the torturing banshee cries, Yu reached Metis; all it took now was a hit to the head. He held his katana below him, just as Izanagi held its naginata in the same way, synchronising themselves with precise timing to deal a powerful finishing blow. Fortunately, the Shadow was not aware of Yu's presence in front of it, which made everything so much easier for Yu and the Persona.

He threw the katana up in an uppercut movement, causing Izanagi to follow through with a heavy bludgeon to Metis' cranium. The violent sound of clashing and breaking metals repeated itself in the echoes, replacing the Shadow's screams when the scraping swords were the only thing they could hear. And then the relaxing sound of silence filled the air, soothing everyone's eardrums when it became the only thing they could hear. It was like they went deaf after the Shadow made it rowdy assault, but after making sure, no one panicked about it. And it was all thanks to Yu, who looked like he was in control of everything around him after making the final blow.

The Shadow, at last, met its match, having its head forced to face the heavens by the hand of Yu and Izanagi. But after Yu dismissed the Persona back into the psyche and got away from the area to return to the others, he observed, with everyone else, the defeat of Metis, watching the Shadow fall onto its front with the head slamming the floor first. Its body went down with a resonating thud; a fitting sound for a Shadow that falls to its defeat.

As everyone, including Rise and Fuuka, huddled together, they kept their eyes on the Shadow, hoping that the battle was over this time round. But when a sudden flash of surrounding light enveloped the Shadow with a pure white brilliance, their pessimistic thoughts were put to rest, covering their eyes away from the brightness that even squinting couldn't block out. This light wasn't just any other though; this was the light that was capable of splitting the Shadow from the host. The battle they endured was undoubtably brutal, especially to their ears, but the light was warm and comforting, almost purging the aches and pains away from their battered muscles.

After a short moment of being graced by this graceful illumination, the light slowly faded away, and everyone opened their eyes again to the murky scenery that was the TV world. There was still a sight they were pleased to see though; the fallen Shadow and Aigis who was laying a short distance away from it. "Aigis!" everyone called for her in unison, rushing to check on her, in the hope that they didn't inflict too much damage on her. She may be an Anti-Shadow weapon, and she may be an android, but she was just as fragile as any human; this they found to be true during the fight with Metis.

Yu and Akihiko picked Aigis back up, and as they did, the scars and wounds in her armour returned. She looked utterly weak before the fight with the Shadow, and after everyone brought it down, her condition didn't improve. If anything, the brawl fatigued her more drastically than before. Despite this though, she found the strength to lift her head up to her worried friends. "Oh...thank...goodness..." she croaked with a strain in her voice.

"Oh, you had us worried, Aigis..." Yukiko said with a relieving sigh, "...it's good to have you back with us though..." Hearing this, Aigis felt somewhat guilty for leaving everyone for the TV world. But looking at the many meaningful smiles around her, she couldn't help but smile with them, feeling the strong sense of security in Yu and Akihiko's arms.

There was a brief moment of being welcomed back into the group by her fellow companions. But when she turned her attention to the Shadow, she then knew what was about to come next, and Yu saw it in her eyes that she wanted to get it over and be done with it. "C'mon, Aigis. Now for the difficult part. It's time to face yourself." Yu said as he gave a friendly squeeze of Aigis' shoulder. She needed all the comfort she could get; this was the second time she was faced with Metis, only this time, she was more aggressive than the last time. And Aigis knew why.

There was a short pause from her before she gave a nod of her head, and when Aigis made her first step towards her Shadow sister, Yu and Akihiko helped to keep her balance as she walked. After a while, she started to recover the strength in her mechanical legs, and in no time, she began to walk on her own. She may have been slow to walk at first, but they all gave her all the time she needed. They knew fully well that facing your own Shadow was a hard task to achieve in the TV world; most of the group could understand.

As Aigis knelt down to her Shadow, Metis looked up to her with wincing eyes and a look that showed her devastation and sheer sadness. Only moments ago, the Shadow was completely hostile and was capable of creating havoc with anything technological or mechanical. But now, it was nothing but a mere mirror image of Aigis' humanity. When Aigis looked more closely at the dark manifestation, she could see the tears forming in the corners of her eyes. She thought she was seeing things at first, but when a tear began to run down its cheek and the heartbreaking sound of a shaky tone was heard, it was crystal clear to her. Metis was Aigis after all, and whatever the Shadow felt, she felt as well. The mutual feeling they had was on the brink of destroying them.

"Look at me...look at you..." the Shadow mumbled weakly, composing itself before continuing, "...you're crying on the inside...you want to cry...the suffering is too unbearable to handle. So why...? Why is it you want to suffer...? Why is it that you want to feel what you shouldn't...? You're a robot...an inanimate object that shouldn't feel such things...you were made to destroy Shadows...not to be sentimental...! You were not made to have a heart!" Everything the Shadow said was true, and nothing else. Hearing everything it said broke Aigis inside, and she could see it in Metis, watching her softly sobbing into her own shoulder.

This was what was inside Aigis' heart; it nearly drove her to tears just watching her own Shadow, her own self pouring its confessions out. Aigis couldn't deny it. This was her. "It's true...it's all true..." Aigis said with a stammer and sniffle, trying to hold back the sharp emotional pain in her chest, "...I faced you once before...but you like my sister back then...you were the humanity I wanted to wish away because of my grief for a friend...but this is different, isn't it...?"

It was something Metis seemed to least expect when Aigis said this. The Shadow's tears quickly subsided, and its head slowly lifted up to her. Aigis continued, "You weren't just a cause of my grief...you were the cause of all my experiences as a human...everything I felt sad for, everything I cried over, you were everything I wanted to cast away so that I could become a mere machine again...but facing you now, I've come to realise something...something I'd forgotten the last time I met you..."

Metis' tears then stopped completely when she heard this, revealing a small smile behind those sobs that choked her. Seeing this, Aigis' resolve began to grow inside her like a bloom of a flower that had previously wilted without life, only for it to spring back to life with the waters of catharsis. "The ability to own emotions is more wonderful than I first thought...to own feelings is to own a human life. With these feelings, I can sympathise...empathise...understand what others feel. I can be more human than android. Also...isn't having feelings better than living a numb life? If I couldn't learn to suffer, I wouldn't be owning a life of my own...I wouldn't be able to progress...I wouldn't know what happiness truly was. I may suffer, but that doesn't mean I won't heal and truly understand the absolute potency of human emotions. You taught me that tonight...and for that...thank you. You are me. I'll never think that way ever again."

Everyone could hear the genuine words Aigis spoke. It was like she wasn't afraid of her own Shadow anymore. In fact, as a sign of this, she placed a hand on Metis' cheek, rubbing it to comfort her like she truly was her sister. Aigis may have been tearing up, but these tears were of happiness, an emotion she valued greatly. The same tears could be found in Metis' eyes.

The Shadow slowly lifted its hand, tenderly holding the hand that held her cheek with a sisterly touch. And with its last breath, it gave a smile to her before closing its eyelids and laying its head down on the floor to enter its eternal slumber. The darkness that made up the Shadow's body began to slowly evaporate into the fog, sending its ashes into the gentle breeze. These ashes then radiated into a glittering light that shone in the reflective metal walls and it burn out like embers into the air, flying out of sight.

Aigis stood up to watch this magnificent light-show carry itself away into oblivion, feeling a sense of reluctancy to see her own sister go in such a way. But then she remembered; Metis was her as she was Aigis. Metis is the very thing inside her, and knowing that, she didn't need to worry about her wellbeing anymore. She held a hand to her chest and closed her eyes, as if giving one last message to Metis before returning to her human self.

Then, when she opened her eyes again, another figure stood in front of her. Upon first seeing the figure, she was taken aback; she was shrouded in blankets of a calm light, and she was standing in a bland stance, hardly moving an inch from the formal position she donned when she first appeared. But when she examined the rest of the features, everything else seemed so familiar. That's because she saw the same figure on the Midnight Channel before falling into the TV. It was the Aigis that she previously desired for. It was her spirit.

"7th Generation Anti-Shadow Suppression Weapon present in the vicinity." the spirit spoke in a monotone voice, mimicking the exact same robotic voice Aigis once had when she first met S.E.E.S. It was a strange moment for everyone to watch. There were two versions of Aigis standing in front of one another; one who understood human emotions, and one who gave the other a painful reminder of how mechanical and lifeless she was. "Of the same model as I? I...do not...comprehend..." the spirit spoke again in the same voice. Aigis couldn't believe what she was hearing. Listening to its voice made her feel ashamed of what she was in the past. But she knew that this spirit was were desire from the beginning. For everyone else, it didn't come so much as a shock. In fact, it was no surprise after what they saw on the Midnight Channel.

"Yes...you were my desire. I wanted to be decommissioned so that I could end my humanity there and then. Like my Shadow said, I believed that an android like myself was never meant to carry traits of human qualities...and because I thought that, I wanted to be rid of all emotions, even going so far as to forget humanity altogether," Aigis explained, looking unto her spirit with a better confidence in her human self, finding the courage to face her horrid past which she chose once to revisit, "but I'm not that android anymore. I have a heart now...and I wouldn't want it any other way than I do now." Again, Aigis' words were true to heart and she was genuinely willing to face her own future head on. There were no hidden lies, no bottled-up secrets; she was completely cleansed of everything that conflicted her to bring about the Shadow and the spirit.

As the spirit took into account what its human counterpart told it, something simple, yet miraculous happened. There was a short pause between the two Aigis', but when the spirit faced the other Aigis with twisting lenses in its eyes and quiet beeping sounds from its scanning mechanisms, everything about the spirit changed dramatically. Instead of keeping its bland, expressionless look, an unexpected smile appeared on its face along with a lighter and more meaningful look in its eyes. Suddenly, as everyone else looked at the two, it was as if Aigis was looking into a mirror; they both stood and smiled in perfect symmetry.

This image, though surreal and wonderful, was very short-lived. The spirit began to fade away into the fog, leaving Aigis with the smile that reminded her of her transition from robot to human. The light died away into the distance, and as the fog thickened around the spirit, it eventually disappeared from sight. After witnessing these wondrous events unfold in front of her, her appreciation of humanity had reached tenfold, and because of it, she couldn't remove the wide smile she had on her face; she never felt so alive.

Suddenly, Aigis collapsed to her knees, instantly sending everyone into a panic when she was about to fall forwards. Just in time though, Yosuke and Akihiko grabbed onto her shoulders to break her fall, and quickly helped her up to her feet as they wrapped her arms around their necks. "Aigis-san! Are you okay?" Teddie cried out in worry, trying to get a look of her tiresome face to check on her condition.

"I'll be okay..." Aigis replied exhaustingly, still keeping that wonderful smile beaming on her face, "...I'll be okay." It was a very brief answer, but it had more meaning that what everyone thought at first; she may be saying that she was okay condition-wise, but beyond what she said, some couldn't help but think that she was also talking about her future as a humanoid. But either way she interpreted it, she'll be okay.

With another battle won, and another resolution fixed, everyone decided that it was time to head back to the surface with another victory giving them the motivation to make the short trek back to the starting platform where their exit was waiting for them.

Fortunately, because of the Shadow's defeat, the giant metal doors that fixed themselves together by Metis' order were broken down again, finding that all the pieces that laid after breaking them down the first time were situated in the same spots on the marble floor. It was almost like the whole dungeon was in the Shadow's control until there was no conductor to control the area anymore. They didn't dwell on it though, they were just glad they didn't have to go through the whole process again just to clear the way; Teddie was just as grateful as anyone when he saw these doors wide open.

After exiting the dungeon completely, they made their way across the green, viridian seashore, gradually finding the platform just a short walk away from where they were situated. And as they continued to make their way, Yu suddenly catches a glimpse of something in the corner of his peripherals.

He quickly turned his head to face whatever it was that caught his attention and immediately found a shady figure standing on the higher levels of sand in the distance. Yu stopped to get a better look of this figure, and having been the one who was walking at the back of the group, when he halted in his tracks, no one noticed that he had done so, nor had realised what he was doing. He squinted his eyes to get a better look and, straight away, found a strikingly familiar feature. On the figure's head was a dark shape of a hood.

Yu instantly knew that it had to be one of the boys who was staring him down from a faraway distance, but as soon as he realised, the boy quickly turned his back round to him and began sprinting away from the area, whipping up the chartreuse sand with every step. Reacting to the situation, Yu immediately triggered a pursuit to chase down the boy. "Guys! Don't follow me! Just get Aigis to safety!" he yelled to the group before running up the hill of sand.

Everyone heard his tone of urgency, but when they turned round to find him, he was nowhere to be found. And by their judgement of how misty this part of the TV world became, they could only tell that he ran into the fog before anyone could catch him whilst he was still in the area of sight. From what they knew, he could've ran in any direction. Nonetheless though, everyone began to worry for his safety, especially when he ran off on his own for unknown reasons. "Yu? Where are you?!" Rise shouted for him, in the hope that she would get a response, "YU!" But there was no reply, only silence, and all they could do now was to follow his orders; but only some. Getting Aigis back to the real world was a must, but to not follow him, that was just something they couldn't do.

"_**NOOOOOOO!" - **_**And stay down, Shadow! Whew! That was a close one! Man, I had to fight her off so much, I had to write a THRITY-THREE page chapter just to bring her down! That's longer than Chapter 27! So yeah, another long chapter for you! Anyway, keep reading and reviewing, and ask some questions in my new Forum if you'd like! The link to the forum is on my profile page, so if you have a question, why not drop on in? Until next time though (hopefully when a Shadow doesn't hijack me!), CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_?: Looks like I got your attention..._

_Yu: And it looks like I got yours..._

_?: You're a tough nut to crack. I like that... but that's no fun at all._

_Yu: M-Marie?!_


	34. A Grey Judgement

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Thirty-Four_

_A Grey Judgement_

**I don't mean to sound like Junpei but...WOOHOO! MY EXAMS ARE OVER! And it's back to writing more chapters! How are you all doing guys? I hope you have had a great day wherever you are and whenever you are reading this. Now where did we leave off? A cliffhanger you say? Well, it looks like we'll have to do something about that! Without further ado...LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0808 - Dark Hour - The TV World - ? ? ?_

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><p>The fog was dense, the air was unusually thick, and everything around Yu was becoming heavier still. This was another deep underbelly he had been led to by the hooded boy, but Yu knew he couldn't just let this opportunity slip by. He fixed his eyes on the boys faded outline as he tried to catch up with him, looking behind him occasionally to check if anyone was following him. And as he did this, he couldn't help but feel some regret for leaving his friends to fend for themselves; but for all of them to follow him with Aigis near to unconsciousness, the situation would be more perilous than what Yu perceives the current situation to be. Both boys together may be powerful because of their combined efforts, but as individuals, they are still forces to be reckoned with. Yu, however, wanted to put a stop to that as much as anyone else in the group, and with the boy in his sights, this was the time.<p>

The further he ran, the more cold the atmosphere started to feel on his skin, and it even began to reach the point when he could see his own breath flowing from his lips as steam. The freezing air was painful to breath in, especially when Yu constantly huffed and puffed for breath as he sprinted; he could feel the icy sensation spreading in his windpipe, as if he felt his tonsils freezing into place.

After a long while of pursuing the boy and braving the drastic change in conditions, the boy eventually came to a halt, standing with his back turned to Yu. When Yu stopped a short distance behind him, he held his knees as he hunched his back into a tiresome position. And as he tried to catch his breath with deep intakes of the frozen air, he kept his eyes on the boy and surprisingly found no sign of fatigue whatsoever, even after having sprinted a large distance across the endless landscape of fog. But by the sight of the black hood the boy wore, he then knew that it was the first of the two he met; the one he met in Inaba before coming to Iwatodai.

"Looks like I got your attention..." the boy said chiefly as he turned around to face Yu, revealing a familiar blade that he gripped in his hand. Recovering some oxygen in his lungs, Yu stood up straight to look at the boy, only to turn his interest towards the sword he held. He knew that shape from before when the boy drew him into the small alleyway in Paulownia Mall, and to check that he was right, he turned his eyes to the small smearing of blood that was found on the tip of the blade. It was the same weapon the boy used to make that small agonising cut in the side of Yu's face. That sword was Minato's.

"And it looks like I got yours..." Yu answered with a witty frustration, feeling his anger rising just by looking at him; he had already been through a fight with one of his friends, even though they became a Shadow, but that was the thing that brought out this sudden expression of hate.

"Well, aren't you a goddamn hero. Talking tough and risking your own life foolishly. Then again, I expected nothing less from you." the boy said with cynicism, taunting in mockery to Yu with a brief gesture of dismissal. "Do you think your words mean anything?! Besides, I'm not here to make small talk..." Yu replied sternly.

"Let me guess...you want some answers, don't you?"

"I'm demanding for them!"

"Geez, you ask too much of us. Surely it would make sense to you that we're going to keep information from you. It's not like we're going to tell you right on the spot that easily."

"Maybe not. But you've given us a lot of what you knew before. You haven't even succeeded in your objectives, so why are you still keeping your secrets?!"

"Why do you think? Do you think our plans have ended? You think we're finished with you all yet? We're just getting started!"

And as the boy said this, a huge shock jolted Yu's heart, feeling it sink into his stomach with a cognitive thud. He didn't want to believe this news at all; all the efforts he and the others had to go through to quell their Shadows, all the fighting they did to ensure the safety of their own friends had to put some end to the boys' plans. But as Yu looked to the boy, there was no expression that suggested any deceit in what he said. Seeing this, he found it all the more harder to perceive it as a lie. He gradually became to know that it had to be true. "What?!" Yu yelled with a dying confidence, "This isn't the end?! Why?! What the hell are you planning?!"

"What makes you think I'm going to tell you?" the boy said, almost as if he was reminding Yu of what he just said a moment ago, "If you survive for long enough, you might just be alive to witness it. You want to see it? Then continue your pointless fighting and be patient." Yu didn't know whether the boy intended to or not, but there was one part in what he said that stood out for him.

"_'To witness it'? What does he mean by that? Witness what?"_ Yu thought to himself, wondering if it was about the 'grand plan' they told him about. There was one thing for sure though; this wasn't over yet, and knowing that he was stood before the boy now, there was a chance that he could finally stop him.

"Besides," the boy spoke again in his usual tone of derogatory, "we haven't shown you the full broadcasting list yet. There's still one more person we've yet to dedicate the Midnight Channel to." Yu was confused to hear this at first, but when he thought on it, he understood what he meant. He made a mental list in his head of the S.E.E.S members that were lured into the TV.

"_Really? Not everyone had their own exclusive broadcast? I wonder..." _he spoke in his head, creating images in his mind of the S.E.E.S members one by one. He cast his mind back to when they experienced their second viewing of the Midnight Channel in their recent investigation and worked his way forward. _"Mitsuru, Akihiko, Junpei..." _he began, slowly trying to recall the order, _"Koromaru, Ken, Fuuka, Aigis..."_

After seeing these names in his mind, he went through his list again for confirmation. But then, after running through the order again, he then came to a shocking realisation; there was one name that wasn't included in the list. He gasped in fright as the name sprung to his mind. "Yukari!" he shouted in a whisper, looking back to the boy with anger.

"I'm surprised she hasn't developed her own Shadow yet," the boy said with a confident tone that filled Yu with worry, "that'll all change soon though. Talk about leaving best 'til last, huh?!" Everything he said just made Yu's blood reach boiling point. But after hearing those cocky words, Yu couldn't help but feel like he had found some truth in what he said.

Ever since he had met Yukari, she had no other intention during the investigation other than to find Minato. That was her only goal, but even though she was determined to find him, it always brought her sadness and painful reminders of his death. She had a bond with him no one could ever imagine, and ever since the day he died, she had been trapped inside a constant living hell. Yu saw this on the first day staying in the Tatsumi Hall; she even created her own world inside her head, enduring a week-long dream with Minato right at the centre of it. Like the boy said, it was surprising that the TV world hadn't created a Shadow for Yukari. But after hearing what the boy said after that, he knew that it wasn't just words. He was very much inclined to make the broadcast that will send Yukari into the TV world, and it didn't take much thought to know who would appear on the Midnight Channel to entice her in. Yu knew that person would be Minato, without a shadow of a doubt.

"You sick, twisted...!" Yu shouted in hatred, hesitating because of the many curses that flew around his mind to yell at the boy. But this overwhelming feeling of anger that coursed through his veins like rushing adrenaline was something Yu thought the boy wanted him to feel. He was being taunted, provoked even. But for any reason the boy had for doing this, Yu tried to keep himself calm and tried to keep both of his feet planted in the ground.

"Go on! Spit it out! Yell at me!" the boy shouted back, taking pleasure in Yu's struggle to hold back his fury. After this call from the boy, Yu's temptation to go after him became increasingly difficult to prevent. But even as his fingernails dug into the palms of his hands when he clenched his fists tightly, he just about managed to control his emotions. This only made the boy put his hands into his pockets, standing in his casual, laid-back stance.

"Your a tough nut to crack. I like that..." he said again, but in a dark and devious tone, "...but that's no fun at all. I wonder if this will help." And as he said this, he slowly took a step to his side, an action with struck curiosity in Yu before finding the reason why he did this. He looked where the boy stood and immediately found a person who seemed to have stood behind the boy all this time. But that wasn't the thing that was surprising. In fact, the person who stood before him was actually someone he didn't expect to see at all in the TV world; just seeing them gave him a huge shock. There was a slight thickness of fog that hid away the features slightly, but apart from that, Yu could see everything perfectly.

He could see that this person was a slender young woman, and she even seemed to be of the same age as Yu. She had a pale skin complexion that nearly matched the same crystal-white colour in her sleeveless buttoned shirt. Her hair was jet-black and reached down to the level of her chin, nearly matching the colour of her grey eyes that Yu remembered disturbingly well. Around her collar, she wore a loosened black tie with several safety pins held in it, as well as the red choker that was wrapped around her neck with a golden lock tightly secured to it. This tie matched her black belt that adorned a golden winged heart motif on the side of it that held the bottom of her shirt with her short black and red checkered skirt that hanged down to her thighs. Along her arms were fingerless, red-striped protective sleeves that matched the patterns that were found on her black-striped stockings. She seemed smaller than Yu, but she gained height with the large soles that were under her dark, heeled, laced boots that reached up to her calfs. But the thing that stood out the most from all of these features was the light-blue officer's cap which she wore that had a golden emblem on it that had the letter 'V' etched into it.

From the moment he saw all of these things, he knew this person straight away; he made a sharp gasp upon first seeing her. "M-Marie?!" he called out to her in fright, and even though he shouted to her as if he wasn't confident that it was Marie, he was certain that it was her.

Though, upon shouting for her attention, Marie didn't make any response; she just stood there with her head lowered, showing no expression whatsoever. It was like the boy had full control over her, just in the same way he and the other boy were able to control the S.E.E.S members when they were put into the TV. "Marie!" he yelled again for her. But there was still no response, and it was clear that the boy had something to do with it.

Yu looked to the boy with furious eyes, gritting his teeth and clenching his fists to the point when the skin in his fingers began to turn white, trembling his hands in an uncontrollable rage. The boy could see this and even chuckled at how quickly it was happening. "There it is! That's the fire I wanted to see in your eyes!" he shouted cynically, holding his arms out as if he was throwing down the gauntlet.

The anger Yu felt before didn't compare to what he was feeling at this point. This hatred, this rage he felt coursed an unimaginable amount of adrenaline to run through his body that caused tingling sensations in the tips of his fingers. No matter how much he tried to control it, the emotion was just too powerful to keep in. He was at the brink, unaware of his voice that grew louder and louder the more he tried to contain his fury. But then, he lost it.

BGM: The Meddler - Chevelle / Danger Zone – Persona 3 Portable OST

"THAT'S ENOUGH!" he cried out, ferociously grabbing his Evoker with a rapid swipe of his enraged hand. Without hesitation, he prodded the side of his lobe with the barrel and immediately clicked the trigger, pouring out the blue mist from his mind like a tidal wave after opening the floodgates. And out from that mist came Izanagi, fixing its glowing eyes on the boy from under its dark helmet with the same anger in its pupils.

"Izanagi, let's put an end to this!" Yu cried out as he held out a commanding hand of imperative, sending his thoughts through to his Persona with a deadly intention that he never had before. Reacting to the orders, Izanagi rushed past Yu with its naginata gripped tightly in its gauntleted hands. The Persona glided above the ground with a blinding speed, charging headfirst towards the boy as it held its hulking sword behind itself to set the swing.

As Yu watched this all happening, it was like he was witnessing a massacre waiting to happen. Because of this line of thinking, the thought of letting his Persona loose on a human being was something he didn't think about up until that moment; because of it, his confidence in his own judgement started to waver, even to the point when he started to have second thoughts altogether. But he was now committed to the assault. He had to stop this madness one way or another, and this was as close as it got.

Izanagi lifted its blade, getting into position so that it could make its vertical slash onto the boy. But as Yu kept his eyes on the target, he saw no sign of movement from the boy at all; if anything, he was still stood in the same position with his hands still casually being stuffed into his jacket pockets. It was insulting to see him in such a calm manner, but when Izanagi held up its sword, Yu was about to find out why. "Well! This should be fun!" the boy shouted with a mischievous laugh. Not only was this off-putting to hear, but when it came to it, something even more unexpected caught Yu off guard. In his case though, unexpected would be nothing more than an understatement.

The hoodlum raised a hand and jabbed his finger into the side of his head, almost as if he was holding a splitting headache. And when Yu could hear the mental suffering in his groans as he did this, a sudden red mist began to form around him with flowing patterns that suggested nothing less than imminent danger. Yu couldn't help but find that he saw this mist before, but before he knew it, he was about to know why.

"Michael!" he called out, instantly striking a shock in Yu when he found something familiar in who he was calling for, "This guy's asking for it!" And before Yu could react to what was happening, the boy gave a rapid lift of his head, causing a sound of shattering glass to fill the air with a sharp sound of discordance. At first, Yu didn't know what to make of this; it was all happening so fast.

But then a figure began to materialise in front of the boy, revealing a monstrous image right in front of Yu like he was witnessing a living nightmare. Looking at the appearance of this being though, he couldn't help but feel like he had seen this figure before. It's body was muscular, and this manly image wore garments that were fit for a brave archangel, donning its breastplate and robe, as well as the wings that sprouted majestically when it flexed them. It's signature weapon was of a silver spear, and upon being summoned, it readied itself to take a piercing jab at Izanagi.

The only difference in this being compared to what Yu remembered, its skin and armour was tainted with a dark shade of grey; even the pure white colour in its wings and robes were soaked in the inky substance of darkness. And with this new, monochromatic flesh, its eyes glowed with an enigmatic light that left light-streams shining through the fog with an unnerving illumination.

He watched without any warning as the grey monster drew out its spear, driving it forwards with an unwavering precision towards Izanagi. Though, acting quick enough, Yu immediately sent his command through to his Persona, just in time for Izanagi to abort from its assault and dodge the attack the creature made. But in the process of its attack, the grey anomaly managed to land a hit on the Persona's naginata, and the force of the stab pushed the weapon in such a way that Izanagi lost its balance upon impact. Then, finding an open target, the dingy behemoth jumped up to the Persona's eye-level, using the rod of the spear to slam it into Izanagi's helmet with the same strength it used to parry the naginata away.

As Izanagi jerked back from the sudden sequence of attacks, Yu recoiled with it as the Persona was forced to return to his psyche, feeling his head being thrown behind his back when a sharp sting suddenly burned on his lip. The next thing he knew, he found himself on the ground, feeling the agony in his back when he noticed the thud. And when he sat up, he brought his hand up to his lip, wincing when an excruciating pain was felt on the inside gum. He lifted the hand away from lip and looked at it, finding a thick bloodstain that covered his fingers in crimson.

But that was the least of his worries; what he was so dumbstruck about was the figure that towered over him. It was everything he didn't expect at all from the hoodlum, and what made it all the more shocking was the fact that all he could see from it was the colour grey. "A...A Persona?!" he stammered in fear, remembering that it was a Persona he was capable of controlling before; Michael, the archangel of the Judgement Arcana. But it was covered in morbid colours, something which Yu had never seen before.

"You could call it that..." the boy said with a sinister tone, dismissing the tarnished Michael back into his demonised mind as he took up Minato's blade. He flourished the sword at Yu in a belittling manner, keeping one hand in his pocket as a mocking gesture. "...You wanted a fight didn't you?" the hoodlum spoke again contemptuously, "Then get up."

The authority in his voice was something Yu wasn't about to tolerate. In fact, it only made him more inclined to pick up the katana that fell at his side after it came loose from his jacket lining. Ignoring the drop of blood that fell down his chin, he slowly got back up to his feet, standing in his battle stance when he recovered his foot coordination.

There was a long pause between the two fighters. Yu took this as an opportunity to think out his next move, whereas the boy only stood there waiting for that move to happen. Yu could see him just standing there, indulging himself with the situation they were in. He couldn't bring himself to summon another Persona onto the battlefield; the blow he'd been dealt to the jaw was incredibly powerful, and any more summonings could put him in a dangerous position, especially when he hasn't got Rise, Fuuka or any support to give him information on the hoodlum's capabilities.

So after a brief moment of planning strategies, Yu started to make his way towards the boy with his katana held at his side with a grip so vigorously tight that it drained the pink complexion from his skin. As he made his sprint, he thought through the possible attacks he could make using his blade and confirmed one move to be the first that he was fairly confident with. Yu admitted that the boy was supremely skilled with his Persona, and if that was the case, his ability with a sword would be just as deadly. But he couldn't let that get to him; if he couldn't try, he wouldn't learn from him. That was his strategy.

When the boy was right in front of him, Yu took a leap forward towards him, bringing down his katana in a vertical slash with a loud grunt as he swung. It wasn't surprising that the boy would manage to block the attack, but rather more insulting when Yu noticed that he was only using one hand to do so; the other hand was still in his pocket.

After a carefully thought-out attack failure, Yu wasn't about to stop just there. Upon the first impact of clashing swords, he bombarded the hoodlum with a fury of assaults with his katana, slashing and slicing from left to right, and using any means possible to land a hit on him. But despite the agility and the precision in every swing he made, the boy just swiped them away effortlessly, acting as if he was merely brushing away his attacks as if they were more of an annoyance than a big deal. Yu grunted with every swing, but the boy didn't make any sound whatsoever apart from the chuckling he made when he listened to Yu's deep breathing. Yu was getting exhausted, and every move started to make his sword feel heavier in his hands. As a result, his wave of attacks gradually slowed down, nearly to the point when he was thinking about retreating from the position he was in. The sweat started to show on his forehead, and soon enough, his arms started to ache.

But before he could do anything about it, the boy reacted first, finding a window of opportunity to make a move of his own. He held his sword diagonally, so that when Yu took another strike at his blade, he swung it to parry his attack. Doing this, he successfully forced Yu's katana to the ground, rendering him unguarded when he couldn't pick it back up after finding it slightly stuck in the soil.

Suddenly, just when Yu managed to get the blade out from the earth, he was brutally met with a punishing blow to the stomach, feeling a thick sole of a sneaker sink into his skin when he found that it belonged to the boy. The jabbing kick to the gut was immensely agonising, especially when he was sent a large distance away from the boy, landing on his back for the second time; the fall was just as painful as the last.

"Hahaha! Aren't we full of party tricks tonight?!" the boy scoffed, looking down on the fallen Yu with his head held high, "Here, I'll show you another!" Yu was completely zonked after the attacks he expended his energy on, and he didn't even have the strength to support himself up to a sitting position. To top it off, he became deprived of his own oxygen after being winded by the unexpected roundhouse kick. The boy may be calling them 'party tricks', but Yu knew he was the product of them and his potential defeat would be the punchline for him.

With the state Yu was in, he could tell what was about to come up next when the hoodlum raised his hand against to the side of his lobe, making a slight guttural moan when the red mist began to circulate around him. "Michael, again!" he yelled out as he snapped his head up to call forth the tainted Michael back onto the battlefield. Shortly after, the dark archangel returned from the psyche, standing behind the boy with its spear stood at the side of him.

The boy gripped Minato's blade tightly as if he was holding the same spear as Michael was, and as he raised it, the demonised Persona lifted its spear with him. He held the sword in a position that prepared itself to make a stab attack, as did Michael who held its own weapon in the same way. "This might sting a bit..." the boy said in a loud whisper, leaving a pause for Yu to make a response to what the boy had to say. All Yu could do, however, was to shuffle in his sitting position, trying to get as far away from the hazard zone as possible. But by then, the boy was preparing to make his final blow.

Eventually, the sword and spear were thrusted forward by the hood's hand and command, cutting the air resistance with a vicious strike that headed for Yu that would surely deal a bloody end to him. Yu was completely fatigued to even react to this quickly enough; he had already endured a battle with Aigis' Shadow, and to face a boy of tremendous skill with the same amount of power he had from the start was an impossible task. He closed his eyes shut, scared to death by the fate he was about to be dealt.

But as Yu waited for it, something of a miracle happened. Instead of feeling a piercing through him, he heard the boy grunting in pain, instantly opening his eyes to see what had happened.

Just when the boy could make his move, an unexpected ball of green, razor wind suddenly came from behind him, homing in towards Michael and eventually impacting upon its body, causing it to recoil from the force of the unknown assault. This in turn, caused the boy to do the same, being forced back with the Persona even though he was still standing afterwards. In the process, Michael was forced to return to the subconscious, taking its agony and placing it into the mind of the hood.

As Yu opened his eyes, he looked around to find his saviour and immediately found a familiar figure beside him that made him sigh deeply in relief. With that person, was his Persona, and when he noticed the distinguishable features of its flaming head and jumpsuit appearance, he knew that it was Susano-o who dealt the wind-attack to the boy. Knowing this, it was Yosuke who was there to save the day.

Yosuke looked to the hoodlum with a burning fire in his eyes. "That's right, asshole!" he yelled in fury, helping Yu up to his feet as he kept his eyes fixed on the boy, "No one takes down my pal! Not you, not anyone! You hear me?!" The power in Yosuke's voice was just as strong as the aid he gave Yu. As he was picked by his partner, Yu could feel his dead weight being lifted, like he was ascended from the ground by a heavenly force; he knew that it was the security by his own best friend, but it was just as good as that.

Shortly after, when he found his ability to stand on his own two feet, he suddenly heard the sound of numerous footsteps resonating from behind him, gradually getting louder when he felt that they were getting closer to him. When the noise was then coming from right beside him, he found that the source came from the people he needed most. Everyone else came running to Yu's side, holding out their respective weapons and Evokers in readiness for a brawl with the boy. "I swear Senpai, if you run off like that again...!" Rise said with a frustration that hid away most of her feelings of sheer worry. They all stood around him as a human barrier, shielding him away from any fatal attacks or sudden movements that the hoodlum might make.

"Hey! You mess with our leader, you mess with us, buddy!" Junpei shouted, shaking an aggressive fist at the boy whilst resting his oversized claymore on his shoulder. He and Yosuke weren't the only ones who developed a burning hatred for the hoodie; Koromaru emerged from Junpei's feet, growling and barking with his canine teeth showing when he snarled ferociously. Yu looked to the hound and then turned his eyes from side to side to face each of his teammates that supported him, even when he told them not to follow him. Despite this though, the fears and shocks he had whilst facing the boy's seldom-seen abilities were finally quelled, feeling relieved in the safety of his friends' company. He even had thoughts that questioned himself on why he even went alone in the first place.

"Well, you can't get any luckier than that..." the boy admitted scornfully, still trying to retain his authority over the large group of gifted teenagers, "...whatever. Looks like I'll have to be patient..." He stood as if he hadn't taken a scratch, despite having been attacked with Yosuke's wind capabilities. And for him to withdraw from the fight was even more surprising. No one knew whether to throw this back into the hood's face, or to deal with the situation at hand; to antagonise him, or to leave the confrontation for another night took some thought to make their decision.

But before they could even respond, the boy lifted a hand, waving it mockingly to everyone. "Good night, losers." he bluntly said, placing his hand back down to his side. And with that, his body was quickly surrounded by static, and by the loud sound of buzzing white noise, the black and white pixels suddenly flashed out of view as the boy's outline vanished with it.

Calling them 'losers' was quite a childish name to give them, especially with the sophisticated personality he had been showing all this time. But the way in which he said it was the thing that irked the team, leaving some of them gritting their teeth when they watched him disappearing out of thin air.

Disregarding it, they turned to Yu, still bleeding from the lip and limping on his aching legs. "Didn't I...tell you guys to not follow me?" Yu said weakly, even though he understood why his friends sought out to find him. Everyone just looked at him, dumbfounded and slightly surprised as to why Yu would even ask such a question. "Are you kidding, Yu-kun?!" Chie shouted in outburst, "You were close to being sliced open!"

"Yeah, surely you knew it would've been dangerous..." Ken added, just as worried as everyone else was for Yu's wellbeing just by looking at the state of him. Yu could only give a wry smile to everyone to let them know of his understanding of his mistake. After taking a short moment to recover the strength in his legs, he slowly let go of Yosuke's shoulder, getting support from the others to help him stand up straight.

It was difficult to stand upright, but when Yu recovered his balance, he looked around at the people who saved him, giving them a smile and a nod in gratitude to the help in which he felt he didn't need at first. And when he looked to his right, he was greeted by another face. Looking at her, the blankness was gone from her expression completely, as if sending the boy away was the key to losing his grip on her. "Yu!" Marie called out to him as she ran towards him with open arms that threw themselves around him in a friendly embrace. And as Yu gave a hug in return, an overwhelming sense of reassurance quelled his worry for her; this was the Marie he knew best.

"Marie?!" cried out the Investigation Team in unison, recoiling in surprise when the familiar face suddenly entered the group's huddled ring. Yu couldn't believe it either; the Marie he saw before only moments ago looked nothing more than an empty, zombified statue of herself. But now showing emotion and thanking her hero with a friendly hug, none of that mattered anymore. "You are so stupid, you know that?" Marie commented, almost sounding as if she genuinely meant it. At first, Yu thought that, but remembering the times they had together only months ago, he reminded himself of Marie's usual tough-talking and couldn't help but smile when he heard that memorable tone of hers. "Shut up, you." Yu replied, mimicking the same behaviour of his long-lost companion. Hearing Yu's remark, Marie pulled away from the hug, giving him a gobsmacked look with irritated eyes. But then she saw his grin, and immediately, she mirrored it.

Marie turned her head to the Investigation Team to give them the same greeting, but as she did, she found the S.E.E.S members in the corners of her peripherals. She darted her eyes to them and gave them a raised eyebrow, confused as to why a group of strangers were down in the TV world. "Urm...and who are you guys supposed to be?" she asked as politely as she could, but because of her lack of experience with talking to new people, her tone seemed to undermine them inadvertently. Some of S.E.E.S didn't know how to take it, but Yu gestured for her misunderstanding. "These are our new friends," Yu began briefly, "Mitsuru, Akihiko, Junpei, Ken, Yukari, Fuuka and Koromaru...and there's one more waiting at the surface." Yu then placed an introductory hand on Marie's shoulder, looking to S.E.E.S for their attention. "This is Marie. The one we were talking about tonight." he introduced. An awkwardness began to build up in Marie, and the only thing she could do was to nod in greeting.

"Geez, that sure was a close call, huh?" Yukari commented, giving Yu a smile so that he wouldn't have to focus on the excruciating pain that felt like scars in his muscles. He gave a forced smile back to her, only to recall something the boy said earlier on before the fight. It made him sick to think about it, and it didn't feel right for the boy to just say it straight out; this was unlike all of the other broadcastings from before. Instead of having to wait for the next person to fall victim to the TV's screenings, the boy already revealed who's life was next to hang in the balance. And because it was Yukari who was said to be this person, it made everything more worrisome.

Yukari noticed the pale look on his face, like he had seen a ghost, and felt somewhat disturbed by it. She'd seen Yu donning this expression before, but never had she seen it so demented before; she knew there was something prodding in his mind that was bothering him. "Err...Yu?" she called for him out of concern, immediately causing him to snap out of it with a couple of blinks, "Is something the matter?"

Yu tried to shake off the thought, but the more he looked at her, the more he could see what the boy predicted becoming increasingly possible. Just looking at how unaware she was struck fear into his heart. The hoodlum may have only just told him, but that didn't mean he had to keep it a secret. Before he could say anything, however, Yu suddenly felt the need to stumble forward, quickly being caught by Yosuke and Junpei before he could lean any further. "C'mon, we should head back to the dorm first. Aigis needs tending to as well." Akihiko suggested, gesturing for everyone to make a move.

"You do look a right mess, Yu. Just take it easy, okay?" Marie asked of him, showing her concern for him as she watched him limp in Yosuke and Junpei's support.

"I'll tell you on the way." Yu replied to Yukari as he turned with Yosuke and Junpei towards the way back to the platform. On that note, everyone began their trek to the grouped TVs, giving any support that Yu might have needed, even when he tried to make an effort to walk on his own without feeling like he was putting a burden on the others, especially with Marie; she had only just come out of her daze and left the clutches of the boy. Every time she helped, he felt guilty, trying to persuade her that he was in a better condition so that she wouldn't have to help him stay up on his feet.

For the rest of the way, Yu tried to calm his mind of the troublesome thoughts that distracted him occasionally. But throughout his attempts, he only managed to boil it all down to two things. One of them being the boy's ability to use a Persona; and learning from this, he even wondered if the other culprit could own the same power. The other thing was how he would go about solving the predicament with Yukari. Telling her would prove difficult considering the trauma she's been through for two years, and doing so could trigger something, he felt; something more problematic than what would happen if he didn't tell her. However, there was also the possibility of Yukari creating a stiffer resolve in herself if he was to tell her.

Despite the choices he was given, his intention remained unchanged. Yukari needed to know. The broadcast was more than likely set in stone, and any early warning, such as the one given that night, would potentially benefit Yukari and the rest of the group. "So, what was it you wanted to talk about?" Yukari asked as she emerged from behind the group to walk beside him._  
><em>

Yu knew that there had to be no secrets, and after collecting his thoughts together, he prepared his answer. "Well...this might be out of the blue..." Yu began, slightly hesitant to get the words out of his mouth, "...but before we fought, the boy told me that he and the other guy still have plans for the TV world...more specifically, he said that there's still one more person that they're targeting..."

"Really? Who's that?" Yukari asked again, putting on an expression of surprise that didn't seem convincing; in fact, it seemed like Yukari knew who that person was, and Yu could see that in her eyes. Instead of giving a spoken reply, he tilted his head slightly towards her, giving an apologetic look as he did so. He knew that Yukari didn't want to believe it, and she didn't want to either. But when they both looked to one another, they saw a look on each other's expressions that suggested solidarity and a will to stay strong.

Yukari seemed very unacceptable of this news at first, but when she looked to Yu and the friends she had around her, there was a small moment of resolution that made her seem like she was denying it, but within reason that she was in the company of her friends; a group which she saw as a force to be recognised by all enemies. "Not a chance..." she muttered to him.

**A PERSONA?! Well, aren't our heroes in for a difficult fight! And Yukari as well...will she be the next to enter the TV world? I'll leave you with a cliffhanger to keep you on the edge! Anyway, keep reading and reviewing, and pop on down to the Forum if you want. Until next time, you lovely people...CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Marie: You stupid jerk! Can't you just sit still for a moment?! You're friends are worried about you!_

_Rise: Wha-?! Marie, what are you doing?!_

_Yosuke: Aww, crap..._

_Marie: I want to help him as well._

_Rise: T-There's no need... I have this under control..._


	35. Salt In The Wounds

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Thirty-Five_

_Salt In The Wounds_

**So, we meet again, my friends! Well, looking at the title for this chapter, you could probably tell that things are about to get more butt-crazy in this chapter! The tension is looking to rise...and how did Marie end up in the Midnight Channel, we wonder. Don't worry though! If the suspense is killing you, I have just the cure for you; look no further than this chapter! I shouldn't keep you any longer, so...LET'S GT-R-DONE! Note: Spoilers for Persona 4: Golden! If you don't want to be spoiled, look away now!**

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><p><em>0808 - Dark Hour - The Real World_

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><p>The trek was long and hard, even when the stacked TVs were only within a short walking distance. But no one minded it at all; it was Yu that they were all worried for. They lent him their shoulders and helped him across the murky plains despite lending their Personas' power now and again to cast a Diarahan on him and being slowed down by his limps and staggers; throughout the way though, he gradually found the strength in his leg muscles and slowly recovered to begin walking on his own, albeit he still needed the support from the others to stop him from collapsing. His safety was all that mattered to them, and when they finally reached the grouped TVs that queued up for their exit, they quickly made their way through, trying to find the best way to get Yu back to the surface as painless as possible.<p>

After everyone made their way back to the real world, they immediately led Yu towards Mitsuru's single antique chair and sat him down, standing at his front and sides so that he couldn't have any chances of standing up again; they knew Yu would get back up no matter how injured he might get, but even if that was a respectable quality of him, there was more concern than respect. The drop of blood stained the side of his chin, and that was the first thing they needed to see to. "Rise, there's a basin and some tissues in my ensuite. Could you please get them for Yu?" Mitsuru asked Rise, immediately receiving a quickly-reacted nod as she ran towards the bathroom door.

"Guys...this isn't necessary..." Yu objected politely as he tried to stand back up, only to be met with a painful sensation as he put pressure onto his feet. This was then followed by Chie's hands forcing his shoulders downward so that he would have to return to the seat. "Oh no you don't!" Chie urged as she placed Yu back into the chair, "There's no way you're getting any sleep with those injuries!" Everyone agreed with her, which only made Yu surrender to their wills to help him, even if he felt that he didn't need it.

"You are our leader after all, Yu. You've got to take care of yourself as well, you know." Ken suggested, keeping a watchful eye on Yu in case he tried to escape from his seat again. Yu still had thoughts of protest at this point, and placed his hands on the arms of the chair, preparing to support himself for when he tried his second attempt to stand on his two feet. "I'm fine, Ken...really..." he said as honestly as he could, putting pressure on the palms of his hands as he leaned forward to make his leave from the chair.

But as soon as he did this, he was suddenly forced back down into the cushions by another huge weight on his shoulders by Marie's hands. As he looked up to her, the shadow that cast over him made him feel vulnerable to the situation and instantly found the angered raise in her eyebrows. "You stupid jerk!" Marie yelled directly into his face, "Can't you just sit still for a moment?! You're friends are worried about you! I'm worried about you! So just let us help you, okay?!"

The severe sternness in her voice may have been enough to shout the whole hall down, but the sincerity in her tone showed a completely different side to what she was getting across to him. She may have been abrupt, but in her eyes, Yu could see great concern and worry, and it even brought back a memory to his mind that made him think about why he could see those feelings in her. He remembered the last time he saw her with his friends very clearly, recalling the black suit-jacket and glasses she wore in contrast to the clothes she was wearing now. He even remembered the weather forecast she revealed to have control. But the one thing that he recalled so vividly were those last three words she said before handing the Autocue over to the news reporter. _"Love you, Yu!" _echoed those three words in the chambers of his mind. Her words may have been harsh, but Yu knew that she only says things like that to make everyone else unaware of what she is really feeling.

"_Oh no..." _Yu thought to himself as he heard his own croaky voice resonating through his subconscious, _"...I hope Marie doesn't still mean that...we're just friends...I even told her about me and Rise on the phone...Aww, shoot...I wonder how Rise's going to react..." _Yu remembered Marie and Rise conflicting with each other in the past, and just looking at Marie at that moment in time, his thoughts were nothing but pessimistic. He didn't want them to fight, and with the cuts and bruises he suffered, he felt helpless to stop the possible.

Lo and behold, Rise rushed back to Yu with the basin and tissues in hand, placing the large bowl of water down onto the carpet. And as soon as she dipped the first small portion of tissues into the water, she stood up, immediately finding Marie's arms on Yu's shoulders. "Wha-?! Marie, what are you doing?!" she shouted at her, irritated to see Marie taking a hold of her man. It was just the thing Yu was afraid of, and he could see that Rise remembered that TV broadcast well.

And when he turned his head round to the others, he could see Yosuke placing a hand over his eyes as he lowered his head. "Aww, crap..." Yosuke mumbled to himself, unaware that Yu could hear him. Although, Yu couldn't put it better himself; he knew what was going to happen next. "I'm just letting him know that I'm concerned about him," Marie replied to Rise, "in fact, I want to help him as well. Could you pass me those tissues?"

"Why you-!" Rise yelled, suddenly stopping herself before finding herself in an embarrassing overreaction, turning her attention back to Yu before she could forget about what was important, "T-There's no need...I have this under control..." And after calming herself down, she began to tend to Yu's wounds, dipping a small scrunch of tissues into the water before dabbing his lip.

"I just want to help, that's all. Geez..." Marie explained herself briefly, giving a tone that suggested her observation of Rise's sudden critical behaviour. This only made the redhead more hot-headed than she needed to be, and just hearing that seemingly ignorant 'geez' made Rise begin to teeter on the brink of losing it. "...That's fine, Marie...I can do this on my own..." she replied, just barely containing her rage as she began to give her full concentration on the wounds.

There was a long silence between the group as they watched Rise softly wiping away the bloodstains on his bottom lip. And as Yu darted his eyes round to each and every one of them, he couldn't help but feel awkward towards the situation. It was just too quiet and too invasive to even consider the atmosphere to be at least comfortable. He sighed. "Don't worry, I won't escape or anything. You guys can relax..." Yu said with a forced smile, "...also, could you all give Marie a rundown of what's going on? She'll need to know everything that's happened up until now." With a nod of their heads, they all turned round, walking towards the luxurious sofas that were elegantly arranged into a square formation around the centre of Mitsuru's bedroom.

When everyone was out of earshot, Rise turned to Yu as she continued to dab away at the cut on his lip. "Why did she have to suddenly turn up?" Rise asked with a disheartened look, "I mean, she's tolerable...but I just...I just..." It was months ago since she heard those same three words Yu did, and even now, it was still something that made her heart lurch with a sickly feeling in the pit of her stomach. She had loved Yu ever since the day they met, and just seeing someone else trying to take her place was a sight she couldn't bear, even if it was someone she had been friends with.

"I'm certain she knows about us..." Yu said as he held her open hand in reassurance, "...I talked to her about us after I went back to the city. And even if she still felt that way, can we blame her?" Rise knew Yu wasn't taking any sides. But that's what she liked about him; he was fair and honest, even though it wasn't all to her approval. She understood how right he was, and to unleash a tantrum at Marie wouldn't be dignified in the least. "I'm sure she's moved on from that though. If that's not the case, then we'll sort it out together, okay? Don't worry..." Yu said for Rise's comfort, squeezing her hand as he entwined his fingers with hers.

In reply, Rise leaned in towards Yu and turned her head slightly to the side when she brought her lips into contact with his, avoiding the cut so that she wouldn't hurt him while they were entering their tender embrace. "Okay." she answered when she pulled her lips away to look into his deep grey eyes. As she looked to the cut on the other side of his lips, she could see that the wound had stopped showing any more signs of flowing blood and placed the damp ball of tissue in the nearby bin provided. She then looked back to Yu to identify any more cuts that may have been inflicted on him. And when she found a small patch of blood on his shirt, she scrunched another portion of tissues and dunked it in the basin.

"Could you open your shirt please, sir?" she asked him, sticking her tongue out and giving a wink to Yu in the way only she, as an idol, knew how. The combination of her tongue and wink showed a very seductive side to Rise, and being called 'sir' made Yu smile upon being called that title. "Most certainly, nurse. Though...do be gentle won't you?" he answered softly, beginning to unbutton the lower half of his shirt as if he was playing the role of a charming patient. Rise couldn't help but giggle at how they were acting towards one another; it was natural for them both though. The chuckles were loud enough for everyone else to hear, including Marie who sat at the far end of the couch that placed her within the clearest range of hearing compared to the others.

She had her head turned to the loving couple, watching how they laughed with one another and how genuine their smiles were when they were together. Many would see this sight to be an image of true love; to her, however, this seemingly perfect picture was something she couldn't look at with a happiness for them both. In fact, there was a more nasty, ugly and dour emotion that sank her heart the more she kept observing their interactions with one another. Jealousy.

As she sighed, she could hear the shake in her breath when her own windpipe choked her. And the feelings she felt at that moment didn't help either; the only way she could stop the emotion from taking her over was to just look away from them. "Err, Marie-chan?" called a voice from the couch opposite her. Hearing her name, her dull head suddenly shot up to the person calling, finding that the voice belonged to Yukiko. "Is everything okay?" she asked her again, trying to get a look of her dispirited face.

"Wha...? Y-Yeah, sorry..."Marie apologised, feigning a neutral expression as she lifted her head up to Yukiko, "...I'm just exhausted...this was my second time in the TV world, you see...I-I'm just not used to it as you all are..." It may have been a few months since the Investigation Team had seen her, and it was the first time S.E.E.S had met her, but she was unusually hesitant in her reply. And not only that, but she was strangely quiet as well.

"The TV world is a very easy place to be fatigued in," Naoto said in reassurance to Marie, "it's no small wonder that we're all tired." Naoto's explanation made Marie's secret all the more hidden, but even so, it was still painful to keep it from everyone; the consequences of that however could be severe, so she thought. She just nodded, unable to think of any other response to give her.

"So, do you think you're up to speed now? I know it must be a pain having all this information being thrown on you..." Akihiko asked, feeling just as light-headed after explaining all that has happened up until that moment in time. Again, Marie could only nod. "Yeah, sure..." she replied, "...Tartarus and the Dark Hour...whatever those are...a couple of hooded guys having the power to create false beings...I think I'm good." Marie may have sounded like a child who didn't fully listen, but she didn't just cast the information to the side. Even then, she was still trying to build the jigsaw puzzle to everyone else's standard.

"Since we're on the topic of the TV world," Yosuke began, having a thought in his head that he wanted to talk about on behalf of everyone else who had the same idea that confused them, "how did you end up in there? I mean, we saw someone on the Midnight Channel who was linked to another of our friends here...but we didn't see anyone who had any connections to you..." Everyone looked to Marie for the answer, having had this baffling thought ever since they all found her in the TV world. They saw Metis on the Midnight Channel that night, but no one with any relation to herself. Marie was the only one who could shed light on it all.

"Well..." she began, struggling to recollect the memories in the front of her mind; it was a condition very common amongst the Investigation Team, but when Marie lifted her head as she came out of deep thought, she opened her mouth with some confidence in what she remembered. She continued, "...like you said, there was someone on the TV just when it became midnight, and you're right...that person wasn't linked to me at all...but then some time after that, there was another broadcast..."

At this point, they were all leaning forward in their seats with their necks stretched over their knees, as if they were trying to listen more intently to Marie's version of events. "...it showed another person on there..." Marie continued with her story, "...but this time, I did know this person. All I remember after that was that I felt...empty inside. Then I blacked out, and the next thing I know, I see all of you in front of me inside the TV." After listening, everyone suddenly gave odd looks to Marie, more confused than before. But when Naoto brought the information and clicked it with the previous information that she gathered along the investigation, she had more questions in mind.

"Marie," she asked for her attention, "when you saw this person on the TV, was someone there who encouraged you to go in?" Upon Naoto posing her question, everyone knew that she was talking about one of the two culprits who was responsible for putting everyone into the TV on previous nights. Marie looked down to the floor again, rummaging through the corners of her mind in attempt to pick out any obscure knowledge that would help her to answer Naoto's question. "Actually..." Marie spoke, sounding as if something had just suddenly sprung to mind, "...I remember someone next to me talking into my ear...and I think I do remember a hood as well..."

"It was one of them again, wasn't it?" Kanji asked rhetorically, snarling at the thought of those boys when they came into thought, "Man, they sure like winding us up a lot..." He knew as well as anyone else that Marie had been controlled and lured into the TV, and the thought that the boys managed to encourage her and Aigis on the same night made their hatred towards them build even more.

"Alright, we've established that," Naoto said, trying to steer the investigation back on its tracks, "also, it's worth noting that since Marie was able to enter the TV, we can tell that she didn't transmogrify into a coffin during the Dark Hour. Even now, she's still retaining her human form." Half the group had forgotten that it was still the Dark Hour. It was considered a common mistake among the group since the Midnight Channel shows its surroundings with a similar colour scheme to the Dark Hour. But nonetheless, Naoto's deductions were slowly revealing more of Marie's stories. That wasn't the end of her questions though. "Moving on," she said briefly before phrasing the question in her head, "I noticed that you aren't wearing your usual attire for forecasting the weather, and because we all haven't seen you on the news lately, we had suspicions that something might have come up for you."

"Yeah, I had to take a leave from weather forecasting. But I had to lie to my colleagues because of the reason why I had to leave in the first place...you know how I can decide on the weather? " Marie asked, getting nods from the others. She took a moment to arrange her thoughts into the correct chronological order before speaking. She continued, "...do you remember when it was hot and sunny one day and then it was cold and rainy the next? It was on the day of a concert in Iwatodai, I remember. Anyway, I didn't make it rainy that day...it just started raining by itself, and no matter how hard I tried to make it sunny, nothing happened. I thought I had lost my power...so I left the news centre to find out why this was happening..."

"Why is that?" Naoto asked, leaning in interest as she rubbed her index finger along her chin. "Urmm...well, it was only a thought..." Marie replied hesitantly, putting on an expression that suggested that she didn't want to say it. Before she said it though, she ran through the thought in her head, in case she would find it as a stupid idea after saying. But when she found it plausible in her head, there was no other choice for her. "...but what if Ameno-Sagiri was still alive?

And when that name unexpectedly entered the ears around the room, everyone recoiled in shock when Marie put 'Ameno-Sagiri' and 'alive' in the same sentence. It was a shocking thought, but when they all thought about it, it was entirely possible. "What?!" Chie cried out, "You mean Ameno-Sagiri could've sapped away your power or something?!"

"That was what I was thinking...but it's just a thought, so it's nothing definite..." Marie said in an attempt to reassure the group, but mostly to calm the Investigation Team since they've actually fought the god of fog before. But it wasn't an idea they were going to discard that easily. "I hate to be the bearer of bad news..." Junpei said as he fixed the position of his cap in discomfort, "...but going by what Yu found out on the phone to that Adachi guy, I'm starting to believe that...I mean, he even said that Ameno-Sagiri can just find another host..."

"But what Adachi said was that Ameno-Sagiri would have to find someone who was just like him..." Yu explained as he stood up from his seat with the help of Rise's hand. As they all looked towards him, they couldn't find a bloodstain in sight; there may have been small cuts and visible areas of injury, but apart from those minor inflictions, he was good as new. His legs were still slightly achy and supported himself using Rise's waist to walk over to the group. "...that would mean it would have to find someone with the same thoughts and the same mind. It would be quite unlikely that someone could be exactly like Adachi..." he explained further, making his way over to the other end of the couch Marie was sitting on.

Marie watched as he limped past her with Rise holding his chest to stop him from falling forwards. The sight of seeing such closeness with one another suddenly caused something to lurch in her gut, feeling a churning sensation twist her insides into several knots and ties that made her feel sick inside. This feeling was fairly new to Marie, and having her first tastes of it was hard enough. But when she found Yu's hand being wrapped in Rise's fingers, it made her eyes quickly dart away to the floor.

"It's a possibility. Let's just leave it at that for now." Yukari suggested, sparing Naoto the endurance of trying think about if Ameno-Sagiri came into the equation or not. Before anyone could say another word about it, Naoto continued on to the rest of her questions. Marie prepared herself and looked to Naoto, hoping that she could shake off the feeling by focusing her mind on the questions.

"Now, there's the matter of where you fell in," Naoto began, continuing to rub the bottom of her chin with an intrigued disposition, "you couldn't have fallen in at the news centre because of your leave. So where did you fall?" And as the question was asked, Marie looked back down to the floor, closing her eyes to visualise her memories more clearly. She dug through her lobe, trying to pick out the relevant information that she needed to answer the question.

Soon after, she lifted her head to Naoto. "I think..." she began, confirming her thoughts before speaking again, "...I fell in a TV behind a train station..." Marie was confident in her answer, but to everyone else, it was vague, and the train station she mentioned was said very generically. It just wasn't specific. "Do you remember which train station it was? Was it the one back in Inaba?" Fuuka asked, assuming that Marie was still in Inaba whilst she was on her search.

Surprisingly, Marie shook her head. "No...it wasn't in Inaba..." she said, only to turn everyone's expressions back into perplexed looks of confusion and bafflement. She took a moment to bring her memories into bigger clarity, and even showed expressions of struggle on her face as she did this. But then suddenly it hit her. "Oh!" she shouted in realisation, opening her eyes to the group who were all leaning on the edge of their chairs with impatience, "It was behind the Port Island Station! There was a discarded TV there..."

Suddenly, an eruption of shocked looks were scattered around the room, and Marie could hear some gasps from one place to another. She could imagine why they would put on such a reaction though; all of their assumptions expected her to have fallen from somewhere in Inaba, or at least somewhere near there. But when she mentioned a train station that was situated only a short distance from where the Tatsumi Hall was, it was hard to believe it at first.

"What?!" Teddie yelled in disbelief after hitting his back on the sofa's cushions due to the mutual shock, "Surely you can't mean the one in Iwatodai, Emmy-chan! We've taken trains at that station so many times and we didn't see you once!"

"That's why she said she only fell from BEHIND the station," Yosuke explained, undermining Teddie's intelligence in the usual manner, "Besides, it's not like she was staying there or anything. And what I hear from Junpei that no one even dares to go near the back of the train station because of the locals there. I swear I even told a ghost story that involved these people as well."

"Sorry to burst your bubble..." Marie said, putting on a voice that seemed to contradict what Yosuke was saying, "...but actually, I went there often...and the locals weren't really a problem..." After saying this, everyone from S.E.E.S just couldn't believe what she was talking about, not even Junpei and Yukari; they saw the back of the Port Island Station before, and they remembered the violent nature of those people perfectly. Just hearing Marie brush them off as if they were just normal people was something they weren't expecting at all.

"Are you serious?!" Junpei asked in a shout, gobsmacked by how Marie was the only one in the room who thought differently to everyone else, "I went there once before and a fight broke out! You can't just say that they weren't that bad! No one'll believe you!"

"Okay, okay, we're getting off track here," Yu said as he gestured for Junpei to calm down, "the locals aren't what we need to worry about. But if she was at the Port Island Station, then that begs another question..." As he began to phrase the question in his mind, he turned to Marie who seemed reluctant to even look at him, let alone Rise. She didn't even turn her head to him, and Yu had noticed that even when he leaded up to the question.

"Why were you in Iwatodai?" he asked, hoping that Marie would answer despite the non-reaction of ignorance that seemed to come up on her face. Though, when she

looked down to her lap again, he knew that she was willing to answer, watching as she went through the archive of memories before lifting her head again. But her head still wasn't turned to him, and it seemed like she head no intention of doing so.

"For the first few days of trying to find out what happened to my power, I was in Inaba. When I felt that I was getting nowhere though, I tried to find you guys. But after I went to the Dojimas house, Ryotaro told me that you guys had gone to Iwatodai...so I went out to find you all..." she explained, keeping her eyes on the people in front rather than the couple beside them, "...but when I got off the train, I was getting harassed by some of the people behind the station..."

"See what I mean?!" Junpei interrupted, feeling as if he was proving a point, "There's a reason those kind of people hang out there! They're a bad crowd to be around, let alone bump into!" Anyone could've agreed with Junpei, especially if they were a member of S.E.E.S. Put even though his case was argumentatively put across, Marie just put a hand up as a sign to make him stop. "I wasn't finished..." she said bluntly before putting her hand back down.

Watching as Junpei scratched the back of his neck, she continued with her story. "I was getting harassed by some of the people behind the station, but the reason why I'm saying they weren't that bad is because there was someone who I made friends with who stood up for me. Then they all stopped getting on my case. I hung out with him everyday at that place in the afternoons after I tried to find you all..."

Marie's head was then snapped to the side, donning a look that made her realise something. At first, she was confused as to why the thought suddenly dawned on her. But when she thought about it more and more, her expression gradually turned into a look of worry. "Wait...oh god..." she mumbled to herself, but it was loud enough for everyone else to hear.

"Is everything alright, Marie-chan?" Naoto asked being the only one who could see her worrisome expression clearly. Suddenly, Marie stood up from her seat as a gesture of urgency, but hesitated in what she wanted to do. She had hoped that someone in the group, other than Yu, would be the leader, but knowing that no one could be a better leader than Yu, she had no choice but to face him, even though she knew her feelings would be an obstacle to do that.

And so, she turned to him, trying to carefully avoid the sight of Rise despite the fact that she could see the dark purple hair in the corner of her eyes. "Yu..." she called for him, feeling somewhat flushed just by saying his name which made it very difficult for Marie to keep her composure, "...the guy I just mentioned...I think he's in danger..." Her plea was ever so sudden, and the indication of emergency in her voice was ever so alarming, especially at this time of night. But Yu was willing to listen.

"Just before midnight tonight, we hung out together. But then this Dark Hour thing came along and Shadows starting turning up...he was getting attacked, and that's when I was being led into the TV!" she explained in a rushed voice, almost as if the memory of it just suddenly came to her mind in that instance. This alerted everyone to stand up from their seats, excluding Yu since the aches and injuries to his body were still restricting him. "We have to find him!" Marie shouted, almost demandingly. But when she began to run towards Mitsuru's door, a hand immediately stopped her in her tracks.

"Whoa, wait a second..." Akihiko said calmly, tugging Marie's shoulder to bring her away from the door. "...you're not seriously thinking that we're going out there with an injured teammate, are you? I know you're friend is out there somewhere, but consider the team's own condition first at least."

"Can't Yu just stay in while you guys go out and search for him then?!"

"He's our leader! Also, if we leave him in this state, then how can he recover? The injuries he has don't just get better on their own that quickly. I'm sorry, but in this situation, we have to put our own first."

"Marie, I would if I could..." Yu spoke out, interrupting her argument with Akihiko, "...but I'm just in no condition right now. Even if I went out the front door at this moment, I'd get instantly brought back in. We have to consider the conditions of the rest of the team before making any plans."

Marie could understand what Yu was saying. He was their leader, and without a leader, everything accomplishable would be much more difficult to achieve. He wasn't saying that none of them could reach anything if he wasn't with them, but the risks of even one person, apart from Yu, not being able to join the group in whatever venture would mean tipping the balance between danger and safety. Also, because of the pace the Midnight Channel had been broadcasting at, a quick recovery is what Yu needs before any other broadcasts, be it expected or unexpected, could be made.

"I'm sorry if we sound selfish to you, Marie..." Yu apologised, dropping his eyes to the floor when he felt that he was making a choice to leave an innocent person out in the Dark Hour for health concerns. Marie's head shot up, feeling guilty for her own actions. "No, no...don't..." she said, feeling a sense of shame coming into her line of thinking.

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><p><em>0808 - After Midnight_

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><p>Shortly after, the lighting suddenly changed, causing everyone's heads to turn from left to right as they looked around the room. The walls and floors had suddenly returned to normal from the neon sickness of the green colours, and outside, the natural black skies discarded its jade eeriness from the rain clouds. The roads were completely clear of the crimson puddles, and as a result, they were replaced with clear rainwater that resided in the potholes that were dotted alongside the tarmac.<p>

"The Dark Hour's over at least..." Ken commented, as if he was saying it like it was the first good news they've heard all night; though, to some, it was perceived that way, "...there should be no Shadows out there now."

"I hope he's okay..." Marie said with concern, "...there was a kind of 'hideout' we used to share, and that was quite a safe place...I just hope he went there..." The Dark Hour may have ended for that night, but the worry for this mystery friend was still written over her face; soon after, it could be seen on Yu's face, but it didn't compare with the apologetic look he had as well.

"Marie, where was this hideout?" he asked, having an idea in mind that he hoped that would make up for what Marie might've been feeling at that moment, "I just thought...if there is a chance he's still...alive...what if we went out and looked for him tomorrow. We'll look all over the Tatsumi Port Island for the whole day if we have to. It's the least I can do for you..." Hearing his request, Marie's head shot towards Yu, feeling the worry and the stress ease away into the back of her subconscious. By this feeling of relief, she had the need to smile to him, but when she scanned her eyes over to the hand that was still entwined in Rise's, that need suddenly faded away, and it only made her turn her head away again.

"Thank you, Yu..." she thanked, hard to show her gratitude since she didn't have the strength in her heart to face him. As he tried to get a look of her face, Yu could understand that she really meant her thanks, but when he managed to watch her eyes casting over to Rise, he eventually understand why she was acting in such a way. He looked to Rise who also looked at him with the same concerned look he had for Marie. It was clear that Rise understood what she was going through as well, and rather than being unmerciful like she was only moments ago towards her, there was a look on Rise's expression that seemed like she wanted to help Marie.

"If we are to conduct a search party, then I suggest we start in the morning," Mitsuru proposed as she stood up from her couch, "...we'll begin preparations beforehand, so we'll need all the rest we can get if we are to remain focused for the whole day, especially Yu." And with that, everyone nodded, signifying the end of the group meeting for the night. Everyone stood up from their chairs and sofas, and Rise helped Yu up to his feet. There was just one thing to do now, and that was to get to sleep; like Mitsuru said, they were going to need all the sleep they can get in order to stock up on energy. They have already entered the morning, so rest was a must, and as soon as possible.

"Marie, I can take you to your room if you want. It's just down the hall from here." Fuuka offered kindly as she walked to Marie's side. Without turning her head, Marie nodded, turning herself towards the door. And as she did this, everyone followed suit, walking in single-file through the doorway and saying their goodnights with Yu and Rise being the last to exit Mitsuru's dorm room. Yosuke, Akihiko and Junpei waited outside for the two so that they could lend a hand.

The five then made their way down the hallway with each of the four contributing to the support for Yu. And as they came up to the stairs, they saw Fuuka opening the door up to Marie's new dorm room which was situated at the end of the hall. Marie looked at them as they walked past, and Yu and Rise looked to her as she was about to walk into her room. "Goodnight..." Marie said as she grabbed onto the doorknob, giving an expression of melancholy to Yu and Rise before backing up into the room. "Goodnight, Marie..." they all replied in unison, watching as Marie slowly shut the door behind her and hearing the chunk of the lock being twisted shortly after.

Yu and Rise just couldn't help but feel ever so sorry for Marie, and after seeing her expression of sadness and depression before she shut the door, it was an image which wouldn't escape their minds. They just hoped that she might be able to sleep on it. "She must be tired from the TV world or something. I know I am." Yosuke said in reassurance to the couple when he noticed the worried looks they were both putting on. They knew Yosuke was just saying that to make them feel better though, and if there was any assurance given, there was only a mere fraction of it. "Don't worry, Yu," Rise whispered to him, "we'll talk to her about it, like you said." It may have been a dispiriting time for them both, but Yu was somewhat happy that Rise was making an effort to treat Marie with respect, given the circumstances of the situation.

"Goodnight, Fuuka." they all then said quietly to Fuuka, keeping in mind that they were close by to where Nanako's dorm room was. "Goodnight, guys." she whispered back before making her way to her own room.

After that, Yu had to brave the stairs, holding onto Rise's waist and the wooden banister tightly as they made their descent to the first floor. "I hope this isn't uncomfortable for you guys. I feel like I'm putting a burden on you." Yu said, transferring his weight from Rise to the handrail so that she wouldn't have to carry a heavy load. "Senpai, you're hurt. I'm not just going to let you climb down the stairs by yourself."

"Neither do we," Akihiko chipped in, "we wouldn't want you more injured than you are now, that's for sure. Just let us take care of you." Yu found this to be true; it was small struggle just to get down the stairs even with help from the others. With every step he made, he couldn't help but think about how this night was probably a low point in the investigation; the only thing that made him at least slightly hopeful was that things can only get better during the search party. That was, if they could find the mystery friend of Marie's.

**So that's how Marie got into the TV, huh? And her friend's gone missing as well? Looks like we'll have to find out in the next chapter, eh? Anyway, keep reading and reviewing, and come on down to the Forum if you'd like (Forum link is on my profile page). Until next time though guys...CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Yosuke: Does anyone else get the feeling like we're looking for a needle in a haystack?_

_Chie: A hood? That can't be good..._

_Yukiko: Brr! What a miserable summer... I don't know how the others can cope in that weather though._

_Fuuka: We just have to keep looking and follow the description Marie has given us._


	36. Search Parties

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Thirty-Six_

_Search Parties_

**Hello again, my gorgeous lovelies and my macho manly men, and welcome to the thirty-sixth chapter! Before I start, I hope you had a wonderful April Fool's Day and hope that you all had fun pulling pranks on friends and family. You've got to have some mischief now and again after all! Also, I hope that the Spring season is keeping you nice and warm wherever you are; but if you are in the UK like me, I hope you are wrapping up warm because it is absolutely FREEZING out there and no one knows why. It's meant to be Spring! Now with that little rant out of the way, LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0808 - Morning - Iwatodai Station_

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><p>It wasn't an operation, but the equipment they needed to prepare themselves felt like the same burden they always felt in the TV world with every mission. They needed umbrellas, they needed gloves and scarves, and they needed coats and jackets that were at least waterproof. All of these things were a must if they were to just go out into the heavy rain; something this simple hadn't needed so much preparation at all, so they thought. Despite it though, it was necessary for the sake of Marie, and her request wasn't just something they could turn down. They had already disagreed the night before because of the potential dangers, and to argue against her favour even when the rain was the only minor hazard would be completely ignorant of them. To make it up to her though, they were all outside, splitting themselves up into small groups to cover as much of the Tatsumi Port Island ground as they could, in search for the missing friend.<p>

Throughout the island, there were three parties that spread the group around the landscape, spanning from the Naganaki Shrine to the Gekkoukan High School, and from there to the Paulownia Mall. The first group consisted of Yu, Koromaru, Chie, Fuuka and Kanji, and after already checking the entire area of the Iwatodai Station, they swiftly made their way to the shrine, being sure to check every corner and crevice of the city as they went. The Tatsumi Port Island was a very big place, and with just a small number of individuals in each group, the confidence in finding this specific person wasn't all good and well with most of the group. _"Remember guys..." _said a crackled voice of the walkie-talkie that was strapped to the side of Yu's torso, _"...the guy I met might hand around in enclosed spaces, so don't pass any hidden spaces without checking them first."_

"Don't worry, Marie," Yu spoke into the radio with reassurance, "we're on our way to the Naganaki Shrine now. From what we know, very few people go round the back of the shrines, so hopefully we can be in with a chance." He released the button and held the device in front of him in case anyone else wanted to contribute; lo and behold though, Yosuke's voice crackled from the static. _"Does anyone else get the feeling like we're looking for a needle in a haystack?"_ he asked, only getting disapproved shakes of the head from the group. Before Yu could press the button again however, another voice came through the miniature speaker. _"That's not very encouraging of you, Yosuke-kun..."_said Aigis, clearer than all the other voices that talked through the walkie-talkie. Some could understand what Yosuke was saying though.

It was worrying enough that the chances of survival for this individual were lower than anyone could expect, but to find someone they've never met and don't know much about in a highly populated city almost made Yosuke's comment seem like a complete understatement. Putting the poor weather conditions into consideration also made the search more difficult than needed, reducing the visibility in some places of the urban jungle. But despite this, everyone was committed to helping Marie getting her friend back; the hope of finding him, however, was slowly diminishing the more they thought about the circumstances of the search.

"Anyway, Marie..." Yu spoke again into the mouthpiece with the trigger pressed down, "...we probably should've asked at the start, but before we get going, what does he look like? Were there any features of him that could help us distinguish him from the crowd?" After asking, he released the button, holding it close to his ear for when Marie replies. There was a long pause before he could hear the bleeping tones of the radio, followed by the buzzing of Marie's voice. _"Err...well, he always wore a navy jacket with his hood up..." _she replied, confident with what she remembered, _"...and he was about your sort of height, Yu. But apart from that...I'm not sure what else."_

It was the minimal Marie could offer, but those two things were just about the right information for Yu and some others to come up with one person; in fact, there were two possible people who would fit those criteria. With a slight look of surprise, he exchanged this expression with the other four members in his party. Their feelings were no different from one another; they knew they had come across the same realisation. "A hood? That can't be good..." Chie commented with a dispirited tone. No one couldn't have put it better themselves, not even Fuuka or Kanji. Koromaru gave one his growls, as if the thought of the hood riled him up.

* * *

><p><em>0808 - Morning - Port Island Station_

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><p>Meanwhile, on another side of the walkie-talkie, Yosuke, Mitsuru, Junpei and Ken were just as stricken by the same feeling the others had, and because Marie was with them, she could only look at them with confusion as to why they stopped to think when they should be looking around the Port Island Station. "Marie, are you sure he was wearing a hood?" Junpei asked, thinking that Marie was only taking a guess at what her friend was wearing, "Wasn't it like a beanie or something like that?"<p>

"No, it was definitely a hood. I would've remembered him wearing a beanie otherwise." she answered, only worsening their fears more than helping them, "Besides, why do you ask that? It's like, as soon as I mentioned his hood, it suddenly became a problem. Why?" It wasn't a surprise that Marie would sound agitated as she asked; she was being questioned on her own memory which may have insulted her in some minor way after all. No one liked her tone, but they knew she meant well, and without back-chatting, Mitsuru proceeded to explain.

"We apologise if we irritated you, Marie-chan," she began courteously, "it's just that, what you have told to us fits a similar description to others we know of. Do you remember last night when we told you about the boys who lured you into the TV?" As Mitsuru posed her question, Marie tilted her head up slightly to recall her memories to mind, nodding as soon as she remembered. "They wore hoods and dark jackets. And going by this, it might be possible that you were friends with the enemy the whole time."

"What?! How can you say that?!" Marie yelled in rage with an expression that drastically changed into her tempered disposition, "He looked out for me! In fact, we both looked out for each other! And he was chased away by the Shadows, so why would he put me in the TV after that, huh?!" She argued her case to the best her memory could provide her for, but she only needed her anger to put her points across. She was still right however; the act would be seemingly idiotic otherwise.

But the Ken had an explanation of his own, applying his own knowledge to the argument. "But that happened to Yu-san before though..." he said, hoping that Marie wouldn't yell at him after he had his say, "...one of the boys tricked him into putting his trust in him. He was the one that gave him that scar on the side of his face." After hearing him out, Marie found it hard for herself to keep to her own points, slowly convincing herself that the boy she met may not be as he seems to be. But then, the same thing could be said for the others; they found some difficulty in understanding the sequence of events the boy took to lure Marie into the TV. That was, if it was the same boy that did this. They all took both sides of the argument into account and immediately found a problem.

"Maybe the others would know..." Yosuke said, pulling out the walkie-talkie from the side of his jeans. He held down the button and brought the speakers to his lips in the hope that someone would answer quick enough to resolve the issue. "Guys, we need some help here..." he said before moving on to explain the situation. It was a long, winding process to go through, and Yosuke felt light-headed after saying a mouthful of information into the radio. But if they had any chance at getting somewhere, it had to be with others from the group.

However, the first to reply to Yosuke's call was Fuuka. And she didn't sound very enthusiastic when the transitional buzz came into the speaker. _"Hmm...that's a tough one..." _she said, instantly downing everyone's spirit, _"...but if we're going to find out, there'll be a good chance that we'll find out today. We just have to keep looking and follow the description Marie has given us."_

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><p><em>0808 - Morning - Paulownia Mall_

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><p>"Right." Aigis spoke again through the static noise, ending her transition with a click that followed after her voice. And with that, she returned to her own search party, continuing with the patrol around Paulownia Mall with Teddie and Yukiko; Nanako was also with them, but she had other things on her mind, including the many leisures the mall had to offer. The same could be said for Teddie, having already lost his focus on the task at hand and tagging along with Nanako to discover the stores with her.<p>

Whilst the two were skipping and prancing around the Chagall Café with cravings for hot chocolate, Aigis and Yukiko decided to look elsewhere, specifically the spots where society never touches. They had already checked all around the outside of the Paulownia Mall, and entering the inside, they were soaked to the skin, or in Aigis' case, to the metal. Even so, Aigis felt like brand new that day; she was fixed up with some new metal platings and paintwork that shone a slightly brighter shade of white than the last ones, and the wires inside her were newly insulated, making her somewhat a little more energised. The rain didn't phase her at all, and it wasn't because she was waterproof; she had faced her Shadow, and that was enough for her to be completely focused on her duties.

One of the perks of being a humanoid machine was that Aigis' body temperature wouldn't change no matter what the weather conditions were like; she reason being that she doesn't have a core temperature, let alone any. But Yukiko on the other hand couldn't feel anything in her fingers, and when the rainwater and cold winds seeped through her red cardigan with wooly shirt underneath, the numbness slowly travelled into her arms. The only warmth she had was the heating system in the mall, and her own body heat. All she could do was wrapped herself in her own arms, shivering as she walked with Aigis to continue the search.

"Brr! What a miserable summer..." she remarked, rubbing her upper arms to create a warming friction, "...I don't know how the others can cope in that weather though. They must be soaking!" Aigis couldn't help but chuckle; not out of sadism, but because she's seen nearly everyone in the group commenting on the same thing. As they walked, Aigis led Yukiko to the entrance of the mall, stopping underneath the heating fans that were situated at the doors. And soon enough, Yukiko started to warm up, dropping her arms back to her sides as she bathed in the lukewarm breeze.

"I'm not the one for this kind of weather either, Yukiko-san," Aigis said as she looked out of the doors into the miserable landscape that scattered its overflowing puddles and saturated soil, "the rain reminds of tears sometimes. And the clouds make everything seem more grey-coloured. There's no wonder why so many people look so unhappy on a day like this; I would. Like so many humans, I prefer the sun...it brings out the beauty in the world like no artist could." Yukiko had always seen a human heart in Aigis from the very day they met, but hearing those poetic words coming from her own lips made her sound even more human than most. She didn't see the world at face value; rather, she could see so much more than that. She saw the world for its beauty, even in its blandest state, and only a mere machine unlike herself could completely miss something like that.

"I'm sure a lot of people could relate to you, Aigis. You have an amazing way of thinking for such art. If only I could look through your eyes...then I just might just take a leaf from your book and see things a whole lot more differently." Yukiko replied, smiling in awe at Aigis' inspirational thoughts and ideas. Aigis just shook her head with a smile, which seemed odd to Yukiko at first. "Beauty is a difficult conception to come by," she explained, "some people may see one thing in one way, and other people may see the same thing in a different way. There isn't one, absolute way to look at it; everyone has their own individual response."

"That's quite true..." Yukiko commented as she looked out to the landscape Aigis analysed. And just at that moment, she remembered another work of art that she wanted to share with her beauty-beholding friend. She thought of the poetry and stories Marie used to write, and the meanings she decoded upon reading them were almost vivid in her mind. "I remember reading Marie's mermaid poem before," she mentioned, "I think it was called 'Sea Foam'...and when I read it, I had some trouble finding out what it meant. But when we rescued her from the TV world, I finally knew what it meant. You're right Aigis...beauty is something you can't easily understand at first. You can't fake it; you can't mimic or imitate it; you have to...feel it, it seems."

"It looks like I'll be taking a leaf from your book as well." Aigis replied with a wide grin, admiring Yukiko's own theories and beliefs. Yukiko giggled knowing that they were fans of one another. Soon enough though, the time for talking about their favourite subjects came to an end, and when Yukiko's shivering was quelled, they felt the need to proceed with their task. "I think we've digressed long enough. Let's get back to the search." Yukiko suggested, getting a nod from the android as they walked with each other away from the entrance doors, continuing on to find the mystery friend.

* * *

><p><em>0808 - Morning - Iwatodai Station/Naganaki Shrine_

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><p>Back in the rain though, Yu and the others weren't getting any dryer, and there were some signs that some of the party were coming down with colds. Making their way to the Naganaki Shrine, they began to sniffle and cough, constantly being battered by the skin-biting winds that were contributing to their decline in personal health. They had to hold out though, even if their umbrellas were about to be broken by the gales. And so, they kept striding on.<p>

"Hey, senpai..." Kanji called for Yu as he violently sniffed up his blocked nose, followed by a congested cough afterwards, "...where have Naoto and the others gone today? Aren't they helping us with finding this guy?"

"No, they've gone to the hospital..." he replied, changing the position of his head to stop the rushing downpour from entering his eyes, "...they wanted to investigate the ward Minato was in so we wouldn't have to leave it any longer. Hopefully we can finally get some answers...and if we find Marie's friend today, it could be just the thing we need to progress with the investigation."

And on that note, they walked on, being sure to check everywhere as they went according to what Marie had given them. They needed to find a boy in a dark jacket with his hood up, roughly at Yu's height. The description was too ominous to ignore, and there were two possible individuals who would meet that criteria; or in their case, two culprits. Two boys. Two people that had caused trouble from the day Yu made contact with them. Until then, it was all speculation. The thought of it, however, wasn't something they could shake off; the probability of it was too likely.

**And at long last, after a loooong month, the chapter is done! Quite a short one this time, but it's something to get back into the swing of things. Anyway, keep reading and reviewing my lovelies and I will see you again in the next chapter! Thank you very much for your patience and I hope you have enjoyed this chapter! CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Naoto: I don't think I've seen that kind of disease before._

_Yukari: Well... it's not really a 'disease'._

_Akihiko: ... Some people can be the unlucky ones if they get a case of Apathy Syndrome._

_Rise: You shouldn't be so hard on yourself, Senpai. You're only human you know._

_Yukari: Every time I think of him, it's always the same story. I remember him, I cry, then everyone worries about me..._


	37. The Empty Bed

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Thirty-Seven_

_The Empty Bed_

**Well, good day to you lovely people and welcome to the thirty-seventh chapter of the now ridiculously-long story! Now, seeing as we're at this point in the story, I think we won't see the end of this story until chapter fifty or something! But we're not complaining; more enjoyment for you and more fun for me! Anyway, now that that's over...say it with me! LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0808 - Morning - Tatsumi Memorial Hospital_

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><p>The sterile aromas of antiseptics and medicines didn't stop to fill the noses of anyone who entered the hospital, no matter where they were stood or sat or even where they were sedated. If anyone had smelled it once, the same smells would've been sniffed up a thousand times over without losing its scent. When Akihiko, Rise, Yukari and Naoto entered the building, all they could see was white; almost all of walls, floors and ceilings were completely blank and the only colours that made a contrast were the navy and turquoise colours of the scrubs that were worn by various doctors, interns and surgeons who walked past them. There were occasional chimes of telephones resonating around the hospital and the masses of clipboards that rested on top of each other on the nearby receptionists' desks suggested that the staff were facing a rather busy day.<p>

As they all looked for the signs for where Minato's ward was, they immediately heard a muffled shouting coming from the corridor just next to them. Hearing the noise getting louder as it came closer, they turned their heads, quickly rushing to the side when they saw a group of scrubs running through the corridor with a patient bed being pushed behind them. The wheels underneath the bed clapped and clamped against the floor, occasionally slipping on the marble due to speed it was suffering. Along the way, the doctors and nurses regurgitated details and descriptions of the patient that laid motionless in their slumber, and it wasn't until the bed rushed past the four when they knew what was wrong with the patient.

Akihiko and Yukari were the only ones out of the group who found out exactly what was ailing the person under the covers; Naoto and Rise however just looked down at the patient in horror. From just a quick glance, they could see the grey-blueish skin that covered the person's body, and just the sight of seeing the pain this individual was going through had the power to completely change the mood in all who saw them. There was a particularly dark-coloured area around the eyes, and the way this person laid in their bed implied more than just suffering; they weren't in the right mind, it seemed, and even their mumblings and murmurings made it seem like they weren't going to find a cohesive consciousness anytime soon.

"Oh god..." Akihiko muttered as the patient's body glided past him, shocked to see such as sight that suggested that he had seen something like this before. Naoto could see it in his eyes as they fixed themselves onto the patient; this only gave rise to her curiosity, especially when she couldn't find any wounds or ailments of existing diseases herself on the victim. "Hmm... I don't think I've seen that kind of disease before," she spoke aloud, turning back to Akihiko with confidence that he would know anything about the patient's illness, "Akihiko-san, do you know anything about it?"

"Well... it's not really a 'disease'," Yukari spoke before Akihiko could open his mouth, "it's something we always came across during the Dark Hour." Hearing this, Naoto's eyebrow raised with interest whilst Rise's expression showed one of upset, watching as the bed on wheels was hurried into the designated ward at the other side of the floor. "The Dark Hour?" Rise asked, somewhat confused and lost in thought in an attempt to piece the puzzle herself, "you mean, people can suffer from this? I thought you guys said that everyone who transmogrifies into a coffin is safe inside them. Is it a side effect or something?"

Retracting his eyes from the ward doors, Akihiko's head lowered to the floor, shaking it when he felt declined to the situation as well as to answer Rise's question. "Not always safe..." he replied with a low tone, "...some people can be the unlucky ones if they get a case of Apathy Syndrome. And if I'm honest, I shouldn't be this surprised that it came back."

"Apathy Syndrome?" Naoto asked, dipping her eyebrows to the strange title the severe illness was given; she knew what the first word meant, but to call a syndrome something that completely rejects one's body and soul of enthusiasm was something she couldn't put her finger one. But Akihiko proceeded to explain. "During the Dark Hour, when ordinary humans are meant to be transmogrified, there's sometimes a chance that a random person would be chosen to be released from their state of unconsciousness and have their psyche feasted on by the Shadows. Once taken by the Shadows, their body goes into a vegetative state. Then... they're as good as brain-dead."

"Oh my goodness, that's horrible!" Rise cried out in a whisper, covering her gobsmacked mouth when her visceral response jolted her, "Is there a cure for it?! There has to be!" But when she saw the disheartened looks on Akihiko and Yukari's faces and without any word of reply from them, Rise was forced to accept the person's faith the hard way.

"I don't know how we could cure it. We were able to before." Yukari answered, unable to bring back her confidence towards the end of her say, "When Apathy Syndrome first became an outbreak here, the only way we could reverse the effects was to destroy specific Shadows on nights when there was a full moon. They were the Shadows that took other people's psyche as a means of growth, and defeating them meant that we could revive all that were affected."

"Shadows that come out in the full moon..." Naoto repeated, rubbing a finger against the top of her chin and lifting her eyes up as if she was looking into the inside of her head, "...would that be the case now, do you think?" And after being asked, Yukari and Akihiko sighed with a slight droop of their shoulders; it was a question they never wanted to answer again. They had only just seen the first victim of Apathy Syndrome in a long time as well, so all speculations they were having at that time were all but a hope that it wasn't to be.

"I wouldn't want to think so," Akihiko replied with another shake of the head, "I mean, Apathy Syndrome was just one factor that caused Nyx to bring about the Fall. But even if that was the case, we would know what to do this time. We all made the same mistake last time, and we'll just have to find another way of reviving those who are affected by it. Hopefully though... it's not as serious as I think it is now..." Naoto and Rise could see that just the thought of it was troubling the two long-serving members of S.E.E.S, and the memory of their mistake was almost overwhelmingly shameful for them. As Akihiko said though, they had learned from that mistake, and if what they thought was in any way true, they would know what to do.

There was a pause of opportunity for someone to speak, but when no one said another word, they all proceeded to the ward that was situated two floors up, using the nearby elevator to make their way up. Whilst waiting for the designated floor number to appear on the overhead dashboard, they cleaned their hands with the provided alcoholic hand sanitiser that was fixed in the elevator wall with a recommendation sign for all who enter the wards to wash their hands before entering.

After a short moment of waiting, the doors slowly slid open with Akihiko exiting the lift first. As the other three left the elevator, they followed Akihiko towards the small room that they could just see over the multiple desks and flat-screen computers. From where they were, they could see a lonely bed through the open doorway; above this room was a laminated sign on the doorframe that had the words 'Private Ward' on it. Looking back to the bed, they could see that the bed covers were hanging over the mattress, and even the pillows and bedsheets were a wrinkled mess. They could only see a partial part of the bed, however; the room's window was blocked by the blinds that were behind it, but they all knew why. This was Minato's ward, and it was all cornered off by a long line of police tape that no one dared to cross over. No one, except for these four.

Once they approached the tape, a decision fell to the them; stay behind it to keep themselves within the law, but unable to get answers, or step into the unauthorised area to search for clues, but at a risk of infringing the law. Because of Akihiko's small role in police work and Naoto's extensive detective skills, the two went for the latter option without hesitation. Rise and Yukari, on the other hand, didn't know what to choose. But because half of their group went straight into the zone of prohibition, the pressure of indecisiveness took over and their minds went on a second whim to walk through the tape with them, looking around to see if any staff were watching.

When they all entered the ward, one thing immediately stood out from all other clues that were lying about the place. There was a window that was situated right next to the left side of the bed, but it was all smashed, and it left a huge gaping hole in the wall. The remains of the glass shards were spread around the thrown bed covers, and there were bits and pieces laid out on the windowsill.

This instantly captured Akihiko and Naoto's interest, and when they approached the broken window, they darted their observant eyes around the frames, pieces and even the kind of window it was. Akihiko raised and hand and used two of his leather-gloved fingers to feel the density of a sustaining shard that was still stuck in the framework. He tried to jiggle the glass about, only to find that it wasn't moving at all; it was still as solid as it was when it was a complete window. "Laminated glass..." Akihiko said with confidence, "...the kind of window that doesn't completely break even if a person was thrown into it."

"Strange..." Naoto commented, leaning over the windowsill to get a good view of the bottom level of the hospital. As she looked down on the soil that closely surrounded the base of the ground floor, she could make out a mass of broken shards of glass that littered around the flowerbeds and shrubs that were lined up against the concrete wall. She then withdrew her head from the window and looked back down at the glass on the bed. "...there's less glass pieces on this side than there are outside..." she explained, "...someone or something must've broken the glass from this side of the wall to force something out of the other..." Believing her deductions to be true, Akihiko gave a nod of approval as he took another look around the window.

Whilst the child detective wannabe and trainee police investigator were examining all that stood out as credible evidence, Rise was tasked with the responsibility of keeping a look out for everyone. Her job was twofold though; she needed to watch out for any staff or residents that may be coming near the ward at any time, and she needed to provide extra help for the other groups who were conducting the search for Marie's friend; she attempted to do both of these things using another window of the same size and her own ability to scan a wide environment. From where she was, she could only cover a small area of Iwatodai, and because she could only tap into a certain amount of Kanzeon's power, the radius of where she could search limited her. She couldn't work with much, but it was covering ground, even when she couldn't summon her Persona to extend her search.

"_Rise... hello?" _asked a crackled voice from the side of Rise, hearing that the voice came from Yosuke, and as the static frequency buzzed and snapped, she could feel its vibrations against her waist. She reached down to pick up the walkie talkie that had been connected to her belt hoop on her skinny fit jeans. "Yosuke?" she replied with a firm hold on the radio button.

"_Can you see anything from where you are?"_ he asked again, sounding exhausted from the deep breathing that was picked up by the radio. Rise could understand though; he along with the other two groups had to endure the never-ending rain just to search across Iwatodai from all directions, and because she was standing indoors with three other group members, she felt slightly bad for not having to suffer the freezing outdoors with the others. Then again, Yu along with some senior members of S.E.E.S were the ones who split everyone into these groups.

"No, nothing yet," she replied when another press of the button, "I can only cover so much of this area without Kanzeon, and I'm going to be in this spot for the whole time, so I'm not going to be much help." Releasing the button, she turned to Akihiko and Naoto to see how they were getting on. They had finished examining the window and had already began conferring with one another, exchanging opinions and ideas with the odd disapproval when pieces weren't fitting or relevant.

But then, as her eyes scanned across the ward, she found Yukari with her back against the wall, standing next to the bed with her eyes constantly fixed on the pillow. The more Rise looked at her, the more she could see the deep melancholy in her eyes, unwilling to change expression and without a reason to. Yukari wouldn't look anywhere else apart from the bed, and the mind-frame she was in led her to continuously rub her upper arm; Rise knew she was doing this without knowing, watching her fidget with an unnerving mood. _"Alright then. Give us a shout if you find something out," _Yosuke spoke again through the radio, making Rise jump due to the time she had been staring at Yukari, _"how's everything at the hospital going? Good?"_

Before Rise replied, she took another look at Yukari and found no difference to her body language or expression whatsoever; she knew she wouldn't come out of her saddened state until Akihiko and Naoto have ended their search, and she felt the need to give Yukari her unconditional support. "I don't think walkie talkies are allowed in the hospital Senpai. I'll talk to you later." Rise answered with rushing words, turning the power off in the radio to stop Yosuke from causing any interruptions. After she connected the walkie talkie to her jeans, she turned away from the window and walked towards the daydreaming Yukari, trying to find the right words to say in the short space of time she had before she approached her.

Even when Rise was walking towards her, Yukari just remained completely oblivious to the things around her. All she could do was to look down at the empty bed, staring at the creases in the bed sheets and blankets that a lifeless Minato once laid on. She hovered her eyes up and down the bed, remembering the exact position he was lying down in when he was first taken into the ward. However, her eyes mostly looked on the pillow where Minato's head rested, sombrely reminding herself of the eternal slumber he now sleeps in. Just seeing him in the bed was hard enough for Yukari, but as she looked on the outlines of where his body used to be, it made it all the more hurtful for her.

All she could hear was silence, despite the mutter and bleeping sounds of monitors around her, and even though she was with three other people, a odd feeling of loneliness and isolation came over her. It was like she considered herself and Minato to be the only two people in the world and that after he had gone, she was on her own, being left with a void in her heart that couldn't be filled.

That was until she could hear a voice call out to her. "Yukari?" Rise said her name, instantly bringing Yukari back to reality, away from the land of the lonely, "You don't look too good. Are you okay?" Snapping out of her trance, she darted her head towards Rise with rapid blinks of her eyes that to pried her out of her travels in far away space. Upon hearing her question, Yukari couldn't help but think on how many times she had been asked that. Ever since Minato's body had gone missing, the same question arose every time she would seem the way she did moments ago, and even though she was slightly fed up of hearing it over and over again, she couldn't deny the fact that she really wasn't in any way okay. She knew everyone wanted her to be happy, and she desperately tried to be.

"Er, yeah... I'm fine, Rise." she replied with a forced smile, hoping to hide her pain behind the false happiness that gave a suspicious contrast to what she looked like before. Rise's mouth opened slightly when she saw this sudden change in mood, but when she looked more closely at Yukari's smile, she could clearly see the signs, and this only made her worry for her more. "Are you sure?" she asked with a tone and expression that suggested her knowledge on Yukari's true feelings.

Asked a second time, Yukari was ready to answer again with the same response. But when she thought on it, her untrue smile slowly faded away, returning her to her genuine disposition. As the sadness started to sink in again, she looked away from Rise and back to the bed, resting her head against the wall as an act of surrendering to her emotions. She sighed sharply as she did heavily. "You know I'm not..." Yukari replied again, unsurprised by Rise's ability to notice her underlying feelings, "...It's just...well...you know what I'm going to say..."

"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself, senpai." Rise said to comfort her, taking a step towards her so that she could get a look of her face, "You're only human, you know. Just like the rest of us. If I had someone who was important to me taken away, I would feel the same way." Rise could understand how Yukari was feeling; not just from the fact that one of the most cherished people in her life was snatched from her, but also because of the fact that she can't let the thought of him go, no matter how hard she tried. Because of this, she could see that Yukari felt guilty for having to make her feelings a burden for everyone else.

"Yeah...but I wish I didn't have to feel this way all the time..." Yukari mumbled, turning her head further away from Rise to prevent her from seeing her shame, "...my feelings shouldn't be important, even at this time when we're trying to find answers. They're putting everyone down...I'm putting everyone down. I know I should be strong...all of you have told me that...and I've tried to do that. But every time I think of him, it's always the same story. I remember him, I cry, then everyone worries about me...I don't want to put that burden on everyone..."

"Hey, you're not a burden. We've told you that..." Rise said with emphasis, hoping to get even one look from Yukari, "...if life has taught me anything, it would be that time can be a healer..." But before she could continue with her say, Rise was immediately cut off by the sound of Yukari's wobbly tone. "I know, I know..." she spoke with shaky breathing, "...but to be healed by time would mean that I would have to forget...about him, about his death...about how much I loved him...but I don't want to forget. There's just too much that's precious to me to forget...and even if I wanted to...it would be just impossible. That's how much he meant to me."

At this point, Rise could see that Yukari was becoming distressed, and before she could let her say anything more that could bring her to tears, she placed her hands on her shoulders and pulled her away from the wall so that she could face her body towards her. "But remembering is a good think, isn't it?" Rise spoke as a much-needed interruption in Yukari's elegy, "If you remember Minato, you can remember the good things, right? He would've wanted you to be happy, and you can do that for him by just remembering him from the best moments you had with him. Do you remember when I said that to you one time?"

As she slowly started to turn her head to face Rise, Yukari gave a slight nod when she remembered their last talk from days ago at Paulownia Mall. What was easing about her remembering that previous talk was that Rise was able to bring a smile back to her face after advising her to remember those good times with Minato; and if she could do it last time, she could do it this time. "You told me about how you and Minato met and that summer trip to Yakushima. Were there any other moments you two had?" Rise asked again, seeing that Yukari finally had the faith in herself to face her.

At the time, Yukari had tears in the corners of her eyes, for which she was prepared to shed. But just when Rise asked her question, the grimaced look on her face that nearly drove her to sobbing instantly vanished, replacing it with a look of thought. There was a short moment of silence between the two, but then as a memory sprung to Yukari's mind, a small chuckle escaped from her mouth that coincided with a wide smile that spread across her face; Rise knew that the smile she was seeing then was the real one, and just seeing it made Rise grin with her.

"Well..." Yukari spoke up as she wiped an eye, "...there was that moment when I finally told him that I loved him." Even though she started to reminisce that greatly-cherished memory, she began to feel embarrassed. But to her, this change of emotion was a good sign; the feeling of sorrow started to drain away from her body, and all that was left was to tell the story. After a pause to collect her thoughts, she continued. "I snuck him into my room one night without anyone knowing, and while we were talking, I was trying to come up with a way of telling him how I felt. I could have just told him there and then, but...I wanted that moment to be something special and memorable, for both of us. And then I noticed my cell phone strap in the pocket of my sweater jacket..."

Pausing in her sentence, Yukari then reached into her pink winter gown pocket and pulled out the cell phone strap that had her initial written on it with a marker pen; the same one that Yu had found for her. Looking at the strap, Rise could tell that there was a lot of sentimental value to it. "I got this cell phone strap from the Moonlight Bridge when my dad gave it to me," Yukari explained, "you see the figurine? I used to talk to it a lot when I was alone in my room...I remember when I told him that; it was so embarrassing. But thinking about it now, it made it so much easier to tell him about my feelings."

When Yukari noticed that she was mentioning a lot about her private and personal moments to someone she's only known for a few days, she could tell that Rise was a very supportive person, especially when she thought about her relationship with Yu. Upon first meeting Rise, she had stereotypical views on teen idols such as her, but the more she got to know her, the more she knew that Rise was an unlikely case of a celebrity; every time she confessed her sadness to her, Rise never gossiped about it once, and instead of being left to her depression because of the lack of knowledge between one another, Rise helped her out anyway, even though they hardly knew each other. Because of the growing assurance in her, Yukari passed the cell phone strap to Rise as a friendly gesture, showing no hesitation or any sign of distrust whatsoever; she knew she could trust her to handle her cherished possession with care.

"I then told him something else," she carried on with a grin on her face, right at the moment when a tear from earlier dropped from her eye, "I told him that...as I got to know him more and more, I talked to that figurine less and less...and when I gave it to him, that's when I said to him...that I loved him."

"That's so sweet..." Rise said with a smile of adoration, before asking a question that might even make her shed a tear or two. She took one last look at the toy figurine before returning it to Yukari, setting up the question in her head with a smile that seemed uncontrollable. "So..." she said with a small cheeky look, "...how did he react?"

Yukari saw this question coming, but she didn't mind it; she was given a chance at sharing her memories with another friend, and it made for a good amount of banter between the two. When she was asked, she visualised the memory in her mind like it was a lucid dream, and as she thought on it, she laid her back against the wall with her head raising to the ceiling. "He...he hugged me," Yukari replied, holding her arms as if she was hugging herself, "you could only imagine how much I blushed then. And even though I asked him not to make any plans for the evening, he still wanted to spend more time with me that night." Then, as the dream sequence in her head faded, she turned back to the empty bed. She sighed and left a long silence before speaking again. "It's strange..." she breathed, "...it only feels like he hugged me yesterday...or even last night...like he was always there in the corner of my eye..."

Before Yukari could enter back into her state of devastation, Rise grabbed her shoulders again, instantly getting her attention as she turned her head towards her. She nodded to her, as if to say that she was approving of her ability to look on the positives when in negativity. "But...you see?" Rise asked her with a smile that she hoped would bring a grin back to Yukari's face, "That's the smile we've all wanted to see, and you've done that just by thinking back on the happier moments."

"Yeah...I-I know." Yukari replied with a mutter, trying her best to copy Rise's smile. Then as the grin suddenly grew back on Yukari's face, Rise finally released her shoulders and held her hands behind her back, lifting her head up into an upright position. Then, as she faced Yukari with the same friendly smile, she wanted to say a few words of wisdom from a great leader she knew. "We're always here to help you, Yukari, you know that," she began, composing herself to try and mimic the exact actions and tone which the person she was about to quote used, "do you remember what Yu said to you? 'If you cried for two years, or even two-hundred years, we'll still be there for you'."

After hearing Rise's imitation of Yu, Yukari couldn't help but chuckle at how near it was to accurate. And upon hearing these wise words for the second time, her thoughts were put at ease, eventually having the confidence to lift her head up to Rise, despite the fact that her cheek was slightly stained with tears. "I can't thank you enough, Rise," Yukari said in gratitude, "we've only known each other for a week, and you still want to help me; even your friends are as supportive as you are...when all of this is over, I know that I'm going to miss so many friends when they've gone back home." Rise knew clearly what she meant, and it was enough to make her smile grow even wider. Seeing the smile of her friend widening, Yukari couldn't help but show her own smile to her, exchanging their happiness with one another when they felt their bond strengthening. It was an odd feeling of warmth for the both of them, but it was odd in the surreal sense.

The moment didn't last long though; after a short moment of showing each other their smiles, Rise and Yukari were suddenly interrupted by Akihiko and Naoto after seeing them walked towards them with looks that suggested that something out of the ordinary. Their expressions were puzzled but showed some sort of amazement. Rise and Yukari had hoped that they had struck gold when they saw these looks on their faces, and when they stood in front of them, they were waiting in anticipation for the result of their findings.

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><p><em>0808 - Afternoon_

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><p>"We've managed to find a few things," Naoto said as she folded her arms with her head down, seeming as if she was struggling with a thought, "we think it's enough to go from for now, but we've still yet to come up with a possible scenario to how this all happened."<p>

"Everything's down in the notepad, so once everyone's ready to come back to the dorm, we'll all discuss it then," Akihiko explained, waving his notepad in a proud manner before tucking it back into the inside pocket of his suit-jacket, "judging by how big Iwatodai is though, we might not all be back until the evening...which is a shame really; we've gathered some interesting intel."

"What kind of intel?" Yukari asked with a hopeful tone, confident that their detective work had paid off. But before any of the two could answer, they were cut off as soon as they opened their mouths when they saw an unexpected person standing behind Rise and Yukari. As soon as the two girls saw their gobs open, they were quite puzzled as to why they suddenly stopped to say any words. But when they noticed that they were then standing in someone's shadow, they immediately knew something was wrong.

"Yeah, what kind of intel?" asked a voice with a gruffed tone from behind them. Before they could turn round to see who it was though, the voice was strangely familiar to both of them, and the sound of the manly accent somewhat confused their feelings; they didn't know whether to feel glad to hear the voice or fearful of it. The only way they could find out was to turn around.

With a quick turn, they darted their heads behind them, and immediately saw a greyish-black buttoned shirt in front of them that was creased all around the fabric; there was a strong smell of cigarette smoke coming from the shirt, along with ash aromas coming from the scruffy red tie that hung untidily from the person's neck. As Rise and Yukari looked up to the towering figure, the face they saw instantly came as a surprise to them.

"Dojima-san!" Rise called out his name in shock, instantly finding herself, along with the others, in a heap of trouble. Crossing over the police tape was one thing, but conducting an investigation within an unauthorised area that was closed off by the police was another, and looking at Ryotaro's face, they knew that he wasn't happy with what was happening in front of him. Knowing that he was witnessing a mix of Inaba and Iwatodai kids didn't make an easy excuse to come to mind either.

"What are you all doing here?" Ryotaro asked with a stern tone of authority, placing his hands on his hips to make himself look bigger than the rest; his presence was almost fearful when they looked up at his tempered expression, and because of it, they all were lost for words for when they were desperately trying to come up with a suitable excuse. But because of the magnitude of the situation they were in, it was just impossible.

"Detective Dojima," Akihiko bravely said as he walked in front of the group to face him, pulling out his police badge from another pocket inside his jacket and showing it to the angered detective, "I'm a Police Officer from Ayanagi City, Akihiko Sanada. I escorted myself and these guys here for personal reasons." It was a convincing statement, but when Dojima gave a quick examine of Akihiko's police badge before it was put away, his detective skills were more than up to scratch to notice something wrong with it.

"Yeah I know about you, Sanada. Are you feeling well now?"he asked with a fed up attitude, reminding Akihiko of his call in for two weeks of sickness to the Ayanagi Police Station with a slight intention to mock him, "Besides, you're a _Trainee_Police Officer, which means you don't have the authority to enter a closed off area without supervision from another senior member of staff. And to even come here without permission at all from anybody is another thing! …You just wait until Ayanagi hear's about this. You'd be lucky enough to get fired without a good shout from anyone."

After giving his lecture to Akihiko, they all knew he wasn't messing around; this was the Ryotaro Dojima on duty as an everyday detective, and to them, it was a scary experience to go through, especially when they were the ones in the hot water. A long, uncomfortable silence deadened the room before Dojima turned his head round to Naoto. "And what are you doing here, Shirogane?!" he shouted, "You're not even an on-duty detective! Just because you come from a long line of detective's, doesn't mean you officially are one! You're just in as much trouble as Akihiko is!"

Hearing his damaging words, Naoto could only look at the hardboiled detective with an expression of guilt, fixing her cap as a way of brushing his lecture off. Rise and Yukari knew that he wasn't about to finish his lecturing, and before he could say anything else, Yukari quickly emerged from between Akihiko and Naoto, standing up to him with the burst of courage that suddenly sprung in her. "I'm sorry, Detective Dojima. It was my fault," she admitted, feeling the bravery slowly deplete the more she looked at his terrifying look, "I wanted to come back here for sentimental reasons and I thought that Akihiko and Naoto could get me access in here. And before you shout at Rise, she was only here to support me... you should shout at me instead of the ones who were just trying to help me."

As soon as Ryotaro listened to what Yukari had to say for herself, the feelings of anger and irritation slowly died down. He left a long, lingering pause to compose himself before rubbing his eyes with his index finger and thumb. He sighed when he found some understanding in why they all came here. "Yukari, what have I told you about coming back here...?" he asked calmly, almost disappointed in her, "...I know what you're going through is tough; I've been there myself. And I know you want to know what happened to Minato. But we're doing our very best to find him, and we've already said that we won't give up on finding him. Cases such as these just need the time and patience."

Understanding what he was saying, Yukari nodded, feeling relieved that her input had calmed the situation down, even after it got out of hand. "I understand. It won't happen again Mr. Dojima." she apologised, hoping that her efforts were enough to completely avert everyone from trouble. Ryotaro forced a grin before laying his back against the door frame of the exit. "Alright you guys. I'll let you off just this once, but if anything like this happens again, I'll be having words. Are we clear?" he asked in a polite manner, getting nods of the head from each of the four before they left the ward.

As they all came out through the doorway, Ryotaro shut the door behind them, escorting them out of the prohibited area before any other members of staff could see them. And after saying their goodbyes to the detective, the four may their way to the elevator, only to be stopped again by Dojima. "Hey, aren't you guys meant to be on a school trip?" he asked the group, curious when he thought that they were missing out on activities. But when they were asked, a nervous shock was sent through their bodies when they struggled with coming up with excuses; they even exchanged looks, silently asking each other if they had any ideas on how to reply.

But without any hesitation whatsoever, Naoto had the confidence to turn round to him. "There was a gap in our itinerary today, Ryotaro," she replied persuasively, "we wanted to use this time to help Yukari, that's all. Everyone is back at the dorm to take care of Nanako as well." Everyone nodded to Dojima when they found the quick-witted thought to be very convincing, and when he returned the nod, a moment of relief calmed their nerves. After a chuckle, Ryotaro put on a smile. "Well, I can't blame you all for looking out for your friends." he commented, showing a sense of understanding towards the seemingly sentimental investigation they were conducting.

"What else are friends for, eh?" asked a smartly-uniformed man that suddenly appeared from beside Ryotaro. As the man rested a hand on Dojima's shoulder, they all realised that it was Detective Kurosawa who was standing next to him. And at the same time, everyone knew that they had history, just from the facts that they were part of the force and that they were both detective's. Not only that, but when Ryotaro turned to face Kurosawa, they both smiled to one another in a friendly adult way.

Though, upon realising it, everyone looked at the two with surprised looks; that was how unexpected it was for them. They even started to wonder why they hadn't thought of it before, albeit they both work in different, faraway parts of the world. It was like putting city folk with a country man. "Wait...you know Detective Dojima, Kurosawa?" Akihiko asked, just as astounded as everyone else was at that moment. Kurosawa just laughed, as if he had been waiting to see this reaction for a very long time. "Oh yeah. Ryotaro and I go waaay back." he answered, emphasising that amount of years that he and Dojima went through with a gesture of his hand.

"Yep, we were good friends at police school, and we even worked together as constables on some cases. It looks like we both made the detective status...which is a surprise, 'cause this guy was always the clown of our class!" Ryotaro joked, belting out a masculine laugh when Kurosawa reacted with a small friendly push on his shoulder. "Yeah, alright, alright..." Kurosawa surprisingly admitted, but with a smile since he had something of his own up his sleeve, "...though, let's be honest, you looked more like the clown with those huge spectacles on!" And with that, the roles had reversed; Kurosawa was the one holding his stomach whilst Dojima pushed him on the chest in the way a best friend would.

Just watching these two grown men having a good amount of banter with one another was very surreal for the group; it was like watching a comedy show happening right in front of them, but it also had that unbreakable aspect to the bond they have with one another. To Rise, it was like watching Yu and Yosuke doing this to one another, and to Yukari, she felt as if she was watching Minato and Junpei having these playful conversations with one another. They were just like teenagers teasing each other, but it was something very touching to watch, like it was a happy reminder that friendships come in all different forms, even for adults who would act like they were kids again, despite being middle-aged.

After watching this friendly interaction, Akihiko nodded to the other three, suggesting that it was finally time to leave the hospital; after having gone through the difficult part of avoiding trouble with a fully-qualified detective, they were hoping to leave the premises before anything could change Dojima's mind. "Well, this has been fun," Akihiko spoke, "but I think we'll leave you guys to carry on the investigation now. We have a curfew to attend at the dorm soon."

"Too right you will," Ryotaro joked with a serious expression before showing a smile, "I'll see you guys around."

With a few waves of goodbyes and farewells, the four made their way to the lift, occasionally looking behind themselves to see the two detectives conversing, acting as if they haven't seen in each other in years; but when they thought on it, that was in fact the case. And the more they thought on it, the more the understood how even faraway friends can keep a strong bond unbroken. As people who valued friendships, they looked on it with a smile and wished them the best of what their friendship had to offer them.

After entering the elevator and when the metal doors closed, they all exhaled a huge sigh of relief, hunching their bodies to dispel themselves of the tension in their muscles. Suddenly, all the worries of that heart-stopping moment were drained away from them, and only felt proud for having avoided the consequences of it. "That was way too close..." Naoto breathed with a mind full of used adrenaline, "...it's a good thing we don't need to face that here anymore."

"Yeah, I'm just glad he didn't ask me for my notepad. He would've confiscated it there and then," Akihiko said with a relieved grin, "hopefully now we can finally get somewhere with this investigation. A lot of things have been left in the dark for far too long."

"Well, at least walking back home will be the easy part, right?" Rise asked rhetorically, feeling like she was looking forward to heading back to the dorm. everyone couldn't agree more with her though; if anything was going to be easy during their time in the hospital, it would be when they would have to leave. For that moment though, whilst they waited for the elevator to reach the ground floor, they just relaxed themselves, safe in the knowledge that their challenges for the day had surpassed and that they were a short train ride away from the comfort of the Tatsumi Hall.

But none of them could have expected to know what had happened afterwards.

"_Rise-chan? Rise-chan!" _cried a distressed voice from inside Rise's head. Because of how this voice suddenly crept up on her without warning, Rise jumped as soon as the volume of it boomed around her cranium. The strange thing though, was that everyone else jumped with her, and when they were all looking towards her, she knew that they all heard this voice inside their mind as well. At first, Rise didn't know how to react to the voice, but when she realised that it was Fuuka's voice that was calling out to her, the distress call she was making came from Juno.

"Fuuka?" Rise replied as she was recovering from her shock, "My goodness, you gave us all a heart-attack here! Is something wrong?"she knew something was up as soon as she heard her voice through Juno's telepathic abilities. For Fuuka to even use her Persona's power in the first place would've meant that something came up. She only hoped, along with the rest of the group, that it wasn't because of any problems that had just suddenly arisen, even though she had some certainty that it was possible.

"_Sorry about that!" _she cried out again, sounding as if she was trying to catch her breath, _"We assumed that your walkie talkie was off, so I had to use Juno's power to get to you all!" _The tone of Fuuka's voice was worrying the group more and more when they constantly heard her struggles for breath. They could only imagine what was going on over at her side of the conversation, but from what they were hearing, it seemed to be a matter of urgency.

"Fuuka, what's happening? What's going on?"Yukari called out to her, worried as much as everyone else that something might have happened to her and her group. But fortunately, Fuuka replied almost immediately. _"It's one of the boys!" _she explained with a rush of her voice, _"We found him at Naganaki Shrine, and now we're trying to chase him down! He's going to run past the hospital any minute now, so please hurry!"_

Suddenly, the rest of their day, which they thought at first to be an easy journey back to the dorm, just in a few split seconds, became a lot more harder. One of the boys had been spotted and he was about to pass the hospital; this much, they know. But the course of action to pursue him with the others didn't spring to mind so easily. All they could do was quickly get out of the hospital and try to block him off as soon as they can. That was their priority.

After a seemingly long while of impatiently waiting for the lift to reach the ground, the metal doors finally opened, and the four rushed out into the corridor, desperately trying to find the way out of the building. "C'mon!" Akihiko shouted to the others, urging them to hurry with him and keep up to his pace.

Retracing their steps and turning at the right corners, they could finally see the way out. All that was left now was to enter the chase, and hopefully capture the boy. This, they thought, will not be an easy feat.

**And at long last the thirty-seventh chapter is done! And I managed to do it during my exam period, so I'm quite chuffed about that! Anyway keep reading and reviewing, and have a gander at my new poem that I made on if you'd like! My Pen Name is the same as it is on this site, and the poem is called 'On Shaky Ground'. If you do want to read it, I hope you enjoy it! Until next time guys... CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Kanji: If he's on our side, we'll give him pats on the back. But if he's one of those bastards, we'll give him what he deserves. Right, Senpai?_

_Yu: ... Wait. Navy jacket... hood... looks about my height... Hey, you!_

_Kanji: Hey! Get back here, you douchebag!_

_Aigis: Teddie, I need you to get back to the Tatsumi Hall with Nanako. There's been an emergency._

_Teddie: Awww! But we only just got here!_

_Yukari: You took away someone who was an important person to me... and all you can do is just stand there looking like the proud and despicable person you are...!_


	38. Coming Full Circle

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Thirty-Eight_

_Coming Full Circle_

**And so we meet again everyone! Hello guys, and welcome to the thirty-eighth chapter! I hope you are all doing well and having a great day/morning/evening/afternoon/whatever! Sorry about the long update; I've been re-playing Persona 3 Portable lately, and I tell you, I'm going to be feeling this nostalgia for a good week or so. But let's not worry about that; on with the story! LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0808 – Afternoon – Naganaki Shrine_

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><p>Meanwhile, at the Naganaki Shrine, the search for the mystery friend continued on. Every part of Iwatodai was completely caught in the downpour and anyone could see the effect it had on the whole city. Not one resident or inhabitant was outside, and the only sign of movement that could be seen was the never-ending rolling of the grey clouds that covered the mundane skies as far as the eye could see. There was no brightness whatsoever, not even at the Naganaki Shrine, and the vibrant red and green colours that were usually the first things to see were faded into monochrome, as if the darkness of the day had absorbed into the paintwork with a nasty intention to depress.<p>

The only ones who could see this drastic atmospheric change in the shrines were Yu, Koromaru, Chie, Fuuka and Kanji; the new memorial that was constructed in the centre of the area made the mood more and more sombre every time they looked at it, and they even noticed that there were more messages to the departed than there were on the day of memorial. They even made themselves aware of the few more that were dedicated to Minato, which made them want to be more careful about their search.

As time passed, each of the five checked every nook and cranny of the multiple shrines and children's play area equipment; there was no one sitting on the nearby benches, let alone within the whole vicinity, and apart from the endless sound of falling rain, all was silent. All that was left to check was the backside of the area, behind the Naganaki Shrine, and as they squeezed their bodies through the small gaps between the shrine walls and fence perimeters, they walked along the narrow path that covered a very small, abandoned part of the area.

"Man, it's so dirty behind here..." Kanji pointed out, trying to avoid the masses of cobwebs that stretched across the bricks and fences. What he remarked was obvious, but it was also an understatement; spider webs and crusty soil spanned across that short slim part of the shrine, and whenever they felt something tickle their heads, they flinched, trying to look for the cause of it. After a good look around this spot, nothing was found, and they slowly made their way out to the front again.

After squeezing through the gaps, they regrouped at the offertory. "Well, we've explored all we can around here..." Chie said, feeling strenuous when she realised the dilemma they were in, "...but where can we look now? He's not at Iwatodai Station either..." Though, as much as the group wanted to find this friend after having done a lot of tireless walking, some of the party, including Chie felt that their search somewhat put them in a bit of a predicament.

"I don't know...something just doesn't feel right about this..." Yu commented, certain about his doubts towards the situation they were in. Some felt the same way, and some were just surprised at his line of thinking. "I agree with you," Fuuka replied with a nod of approval, "we're searching for someone who is likely to be our enemy. But what I'm worried about is...what happens if we do find him?"

"It can go either way I suppose," Kanji said with a cocky sense of confidence, "if he's on our side, then we'll give him pats on the back. But if he's one of those bastards, we'll give him what he deserves. Right senpai?" He looked towards Yu, quicker than he could see the nod that he gave him. Yu could understand what Kanji truly meant though; he could just see the fire in his eyes, like he was taking on the mindset of a biker gang member. Knowing that he was once penalised for his mistaken identity, Yu wasn't all that surprised that he would show this masculine disposition. But he was right on one thing; the boys were in for a punishment, with the exception of Kanji's violent thinking.

"Of course," Yu replied, keeping the thought in mind, "but before we jump to any conclusions, let's try and find this guy first. We just need to go by what Marie said, then we'll be able to find out who it really is." Following their leader's orders, they all nodded to him in sync, taking on the confidence he donned and feeling a new sense of motivation lift their bodies upright. All that was left now was to continue the search, but even more so, the question of where to search was a difficult one to solve; all other key areas were already being searched by other groups. "So, where to now?" Chie asked, almost as stumped as everyone else was.

"We could always meet up with the other groups. There may have been spots they missed that we could check on the way to them." Fuuka suggested, and when no one could think of anything better, they nodded to her to confirm their next move. Without another word, they began to make their leave from the area lowering their heads as they walked into the rain.

But before they could even take one step away from the shrines, they immediately stopped themselves in their tracks when they heard Koromaru's growling from one side of the memorial. His back was hunched and his small canine teeth were showing, matching the seemingly-furious look in his pupils of his red eyes. At first, everyone thought that Koromaru had spotted another nearby domestic pet, but the more he kept yapping, the more they were convinced that something else was up.

As Yu walked up to him and bent down to stroke him, he noticed that Koromaru had no intention of stopping the growling and snarling noises, no matter how smooth his petting was. "Hey...what's up, Koro-chan?" he asked, thinking that the hound was directing his attention to the memorial stone. Upon hearing the question of concern from Yu, Koromaru's head suddenly darted towards him with a look that suggested the smell of danger around the area. And after taking a brief look at him, Koromaru swung his puppy head back round to where he was directing his barks, almost as if he was trying to say something.

But when Yu looked up to see what was distressing the hound, he could just vividly see a figure standing near the front of the memorial, looking down at the many messages that were fixed in the unspoiled soil. When he saw this silhouette, he was confused as to why Koromaru would bark at them; but when Yu looked more closely at their features, it became clear.

The person hiding behind the slight smokescreen of drizzly rain was distinctly male from his slender body features, and even more so, his clothes were fairly masculine since he was wearing a dark-coloured jacket with pockets which his hands were stuffed in. He noticed the dark-navy colour of the jacket, that reminded him of someone; but the very thing that made him realise the identity of the figure was the hood that draped over his head.

When the thought of it came to Yu's head, his instincts instantly alerted him to a cautious stance, standing with the others who all thought the same thing. But knowing that the figure hadn't noticed them yet, they took the time to think on who they were really looking at. They squinted through the rain, trying to pick out the features whilst remember what Marie had told them. "...Wait," Yu thought to himself whilst scanning the figure, "navy jacket... hood... looks about my height..." And when he realised that those three key points of criteria matched what he was seeing. He eventually came to a conclusion.

"Is that the guy Marie was telling us about?" Chie asked, taking the words right from Yu's mouth, as well as the others. Everyone seemed to agree with her, but at the same time, there was a mutual feeling of uncertainty and uneasiness amongst the group. Even though they concluded that the person they were seeing was Marie's friend, there was something off about it. "Could be..." Kanji replied to Chie, turning to Fuuka when he was at his most clueless, "...Hey Fuuka, can't you just scan the guy to see if it's the one we're talking about?"

"No, I'd need to summon Juno for that to happen. I can't just use my Evoker out in the open." Fuuka answered Kanji. But even though scanning was out of the question, they turned back to Koromaru's verdict; and seeing that he was still snarling at the figure, everyone could tell that something was wrong. They knew that he was trained well, and even with his extraordinary sense of danger, Koromaru could smell it too, as if his primal instincts were right to perceive the figure in this way. Deciding to go with Koromaru, everyone took another moment to examine the figure of anything suspicious. At first, no one could see anything hostile about the boy, but as Yu zoomed in on the waistline, he could spot something poking out of the person's jacket.

There was a sharp object dangling at the person's side, and it reflected some of the daylight off its smooth, silver surface. From where he was standing, Yu could make out the slightly curved shape of the object, and came to a realisation that it was actually a katana. Convinced of who he was seeing, he then looked to the tip of the blade, remembering the blood stain that was drawn from his own body; it was only then that he noticed the red colour on the tip. And that was when he knew that the person he was looking at was, unequivocally and without any doubt, the boy that gave him the scar; the same one he confronted in the TV world. The same one who fought him with his own Persona, which still remained as a mystery to Yu.

Nonetheless, the enemy was definitely in their sights, and when Yu looked towards the others with that same look of certainty, everyone came to that realisation, looking towards the boy with threatening stares. Knowing that the boy still didn't notice them, they decided amongst themselves that their plan of attack was to catch him off guard. "Hey, you!" Yu yelled as he sprinted towards the hoodie, fixating his widened glare on the boy's face in a desperate attempt to try and see his face. Before anyone else was ready, the others tried to catch up with him.

But just when Yu was able to see the mouth, the boy immediately reacted to his furious shout and darted his head towards him, hiding his identity once again in the hood's shadow. Then, with a slight flinch of his body and a quick turn on his heel, the boy began his run down the cobblestone steps, away from a punishment he was certain to face if he didn't hurry. "Dammit, he's getting away...!" Kanji shouted, putting more effort into his sprint when he saw the boy disappearing down the stairs, "Hey! Get back here, you douchebag!"

BGM: Calamity – Persona 3 OST / ZONE TIME – Persona 4 OST

And so the chase for the culprit began, and knowing fully well that it had only just started for Yu and the others, they knew that anything could happen along the way. For that moment though, all they could do was to pursue the boy in the hope of catching up and apprehending him. Though just by noticing how the boy's speed equally matched their own, they could tell that the chase wasn't going to be an easy feat.

"_I'll help out you guys from behind Naganaki Shrine!" _called Fuuka's voice from inside Yu's head, hearing the echoes of her tone bouncing around his cranium that reminded him of Juno's power, "I can't summon Juno while running, so I'll have to stay behind and back you up for now!"

"Okay, Fuuka! Just make sure you stay hidden!" Chie yelled out in a relief of her struggle to keep up with Yu, "Don't let anyone see your Persona!"

From the direction the boy was running in, the party of five noticed that they were en route to the Moonlight Bridge, and since they knew the bridge connected from the current land to the little island where the Paulownia Mall and Tatsumi Memorial Hospital was, they had a plan in mind. Before they could consider it however, they had to try their efforts at catching the criminal first.

* * *

><p><em>0808 – Afternoon – The Moonlight Bridge_

* * *

><p>After having approached the bridge, the five started to huff and puff, slowly losing breath as they continued on with their pursuit. Even so, the gap between them and the boy still didn't change length; they hadn't come anywhere closer nor further. But then there was the matter of the masses of traffic that built up overtime on the bridge, which then changed the game completely.<p>

"Wh-what the...?!" Chie cried out after seeing what the boy was pulling off. After running on the left side of the bridge for so long, the hoodie suddenly ran into the stationary traffic, trying to zig-zag around the numerous amount of cars and taxis in an attempt to worm out of the party's range. The thing that worked more to his advantage was that the traffic wasn't moving whatsoever; the boy just flowed in, out and around the gaps between each car, moving as fast as he could running.

"C'mon, we have to keep up with him!" Yu shouted in urgency to the others, suddenly entering into the traffic the same way the boy did, weaving his way through the large and narrow gaps in the road without tripping up. Everyone else followed through, though Koromaru took a different approach by jumping from one car bonnet to the next car boot, repeating the process so that he could keep up with Yu. As they criss-crossed along the bridge, the drivers in their cars started to press on their horns, screaming out their furious curses of anger and frustration.

By the time they were halfway past the first road, the boy had already started to cross over the second, trying to use the same weaving technique to try and get to the other side of the bridge. Seeing this, Yu and the others pushed themselves to speed up, becoming less careful of accidentally kicking the sides of cars for the sake of catching up to the culprit.

"Why... Why is he running from us?" Chie asked in a struggle for breath, "Usually he... he just... stands there and mocks us..." They may have been fully concentrated on catching the hoodie, but when Chie mentioned this abnormality, they all couldn't help but think that there was something off about the situation they were in; not just because they were chasing one person across a bridge with heavy traffic on it, but because of how the circumstances involving that person had changed. "Yeah... not to mention how he's not friggin' teleporting like he always does!" Kanji mentioned, almost in confirmation to what everyone was feeling at that moment. This created a very ominous air about it, but they just couldn't ignore the boy simply because of it. They had to keep chasing him if there was a chance of catching him.

"We'll get... to the questions later... guys..." Yu breathed exhaustedly, determined to push forward, "...right now though, we need to..." But before he could finish his sentence, he was stopped by the sight he was seeing right in front of him. Casting his eyes out to the other side of the road, he could see that the boy was only a few steps away from reaching the other side, and as he scanned across to the front of the queue of traffic, the cars were suddenly moving. "Oh no... hurry!" Yu called out to everyone again, trying his hardest to exit the first road, which was only a few strides away.

After an excruciating few seconds later, Yu had finally led the group out of the obstacle, only to face the next one, which the boy managed to get out of before sprinting away again. Desperate to get across, he continued to make his way across the road as fast as he could. But at that same time, the progression of the moving traffic caught up, and before he knew it, the cars to his left were starting to move.

As the cars made their emergency stops, more curses and shaking fists of threat were directed at the group, watching and blaring their horns as they jogged across the, now, empty road. When they finally reached the pavement, they entered into their sprint again, using everything they had to make up for the increased distance between them and the boy.

Fortunately, there was only one way the boy could run now, and that was straight ahead. There was more to this advantage though; because the boy was running towards the Paulownia Mall and the Tatsumi Memorial Hospital, Yu and the others remembered that there were two other search parties around that area. All he needed to do was to inform the others of the situation. Looking down at his side, Yu reached for the walkie talkie and pulled it swiftly from the belt loop on his trousers, bringing it up to his lips before holding down the button.

* * *

><p><em>0808 – Afternoon – Paulownia Mall_

* * *

><p>"<em>Ai-Aigis! ...Are you... are you there?!"<em> yelled a voice of emergency that came from Aigis' side. Startled, Aigis looked down at the radio that was clicking into the side of her metallic hip, realising that the exhausted voice belonged to Yu. She swiped the walkie talkie away with a grab of her fingers and quickly brought the speaker up to her jaw. "Yu? Are you alright?" Aigis asked, feeling unnerved by the distress in his voice, "What's going on? Did you manage to find him?" Upon posing her question, Aigis noticed the others in her group gathering round her to listen to what the emergency was; they all heard the speaker from miles off around the mall.

"_No... it's one of them...!" _Yu replied, crackling the radio's transmission with his constant deep breathing, _"... it's one of the culprits... we're... chasing him down right now... and you might wanna h-hurry...! He's nearly at... Paulownia Mall... he'll pass by you any minute now!"_

"Understood!" Aigis cried out into the radio, feeling the artificial adrenaline rushing through her internal wires, "We'll leave the mall right away!" She knew she mustn't be fazed by all that that happening at that moment, and in an act of responding to Yu's call, she snapped the walkie talkie back into her hip. But before they could set off, Aigis needed to count heads, to see if everyone was accounted for. And when she looked up to see Teddie and Nanako skipping up to her with hand in hand, she felt quite guilty for having to cut the fun day short for Nanako.

"Teddie, I need you to get back to the Tatsumi Hall with Nanako," she ordered, "there's been an emergency." But in the only way Teddie could, he slouched with a dejected expression that Nanako copied with him. It was clear that he was misreading the situation. "Awww!" Teddie said with a childish tone, "But we only just got here! Nana-chan and I we're going to go to the Mandragora and everything!"

"Now, Teddie!" Yukiko belted at the blue-eyed blonde, somewhat irked by how he hadn't gotten the clue yet. And just like that, Teddie submitted to Yukiko's authority, flinching his body like her voice hit him like a shockwave. Soon after, Teddie ran out of the mall with Nanako riding on his back, making their way back to the Tatsumi Hall. "Be sure to go around the main route!" Aigis shouted before Teddie reached the exit, hoping that he and Nanako wouldn't have to come into direct contact with the boy.

With only Aigis and Yukiko left in their group, there was only one thing to do now, and that was to capture the culprit. The objective was as clear as day in their heads, and as they made their way to the exit, they squinted their eyes, preparing themselves for when they enter the downpour. Once outside, they turned to their right, sprinting down the main path in the hope that they would manage to find a hooded figure along the way.

"Yu, have you notified Rise-san about this?!" Aigis spoke into the walkie talkie again, trying to shout over the noise pollution the rain was creating.

* * *

><p><em>0808 – Afternoon – Outside the Moonlight Bridge_

* * *

><p>"I've tried to reach her... but she's not responding... nor is anyone else with her...!" Yu replied with a slowly increasing demand for oxygen, "... her walkie talkie... might be turned off though... hospitals don't like anything... that gives out a signal... after all..." Yu replied breathlessly.<p>

Ending the transmission there, Yu and his group had managed to get off the bridge with the boy, but as the stitches and excruciating pains in their bodies were starting to bring them down, they all knew they needed back up from all other groups, and fast. Fuuka soon then tapped in their minds again. _"__I'll try to reach Rise from here and tell her of the situation!"_Fuuka said in reassurance, concentrating on stretching Juno's range as far as she could towards the Tatsumi Memorial Hospital, _"I just hope I can get to them from here..."_

After Fuuka cut off communication, Yu, Chie, Kanji and Koromaru continued to run, giving one last push before the next group could enter the chase. At this point in time though, each of the four were starting to get light-headed, and the need for air was becoming a huge problem, especially when the lack of oxygen was causing stretching pains and aches to their muscles. They needed to stop, but because of the presented situation, it just wasn't an option; not until they've either caught the boy or had their place taken by another group.

But just when the boy had reached the Paulownia Mall, they could just see Aigis and Yukiko emerging from the fogginess of the rain with all eyes on the hoodie, and just the sight of them taking their place in the pursuit washed them over with a huge sense of relief. Unfortunately, instead of joining them, their bodies were in no condition to carry on, so when they passed the baton onto the two-girl group, Yu relieved his legs of the tension and allowed himself to slow down, spreading his arms out to indicate for the others to stop.

Standing with their hands on their knees, the four could finally catch their breath, breathing the air in deep quantities and stabilising themselves when they felt the heaviness in their thighs. After doing this though, they knew they had to find another way of getting to the boy, but for that moment, Yu had to contact Aigis to let them know what was going on.

* * *

><p><em>0808 – Afternoon – Outside the Tatsumi Memorial Hospital_

* * *

><p>"<em>Aigis," <em>Yu's voice breathed from Aigis' walkie talkie, _"you and Yukiko will have to go on without us... we can't run anymore..." _The news only made Aigis and Yukiko feel that the weight of responsibility was suddenly placed in their hands. But noticing that the boy was also running out of steam made the situation more bearable, especially when Aigis was someone who didn't need oxygen or muscle power to sprint like an athlete.

Taking the radio from the side of her hip, Aigis hovering the speaker over her mouth. "Roger!" she confidently said, "we'll continue to chase down the boy! Does everyone else know about this?"

"_Yeah, Fuuka said she's contacted Rise and the others down at the hospital, so you should meet up with them any moment now... I'm not sure about Yosuke's group though..."_ Yu replied, still recovering from the long sprint, _"... if you happen to be still chasing the guy and you're coming up to the Port Island Station, try contacting them then... I just can't seem to get through to them right now; must be a bad signal or something..."_

"Okay. Judging from our position at the moment, we should see Rise-san and the others fairly soon!" Aigis confirmed, fully understanding the orders she was given, "I suggest that you return to the dorm, Yu-san. You sound very exhausted." There was a long pause after which Aigis had given her concern to Yu, urging for him to return before he or anyone else could face the consequences for staying in a downpour for too long; the silent noise from the radio indicated that he had taken her advice. But then, after a forced chuckle broke through the speaker, she knew that Yu was about to contradict. _"No can do, Aigis..." _he said with words of resolve, _"... we're on our way to the Iwatodai Station. From here, that guy has nowhere to go apart from Port Island Station, and if by any chance gets on the monorail, we'll be waiting at the other end to get the jump on him."_

"I see," Aigis said in approval, nodding in complete agreement with Yu's plan, "if it should come to that, then I hope the plan goes well!" And the transmission ended, but before Aigis could place the walkie talkie back into the gap between her thigh and her hip, Yukiko held her hand out to her, asking her for the radio with her body language. As Aigis passed it over to her, Yukiko held it in front of her teeth, hovering the other hand over the speaker to stop the rain from interfering. "Yu? This is Yukiko here," she said as her lips barely touched the transmitter, trying to hold back the deep breathing, "This has only just crossed my mind... but why is he running from us? Doesn't he usually confront us?"

"_That's what we've been wondering..." _Yu replied, also troubled by this sudden change, _"... but if we catch him, we might be able to get something out of him; hopefully he'll offer up something that might lead us to Minato." _Understanding how crucial the capture would be, Yukiko gave a nod. Yu's determination to catch the culprit almost seemed like it was transmitted from him to Yukiko and Aigis, feeling his words give them the confidence to keep on running. "Right!" Yukiko shouted to the radio before giving it back to Aigis.

At that same time, the hoodie, Yukiko and Aigis were running past the hospital, and as the latter two were casting their eyes onto the entrance, they were clinging onto nothing but faith that Rise and the others would emerge in time to stop the boy. The more they were approaching the entrance doors, the more they were aching for assistance to arrive. Fortunately, the hospital was a fairly big building, making the run past it more daunting for the boy; but unfortunately, no one was there to stop him passing it.

They could only hope for them to turn up, but after eventually running by the doors, the situation became dire. Reacting to this, Aigis again pulled out the walkie talkie, desperately trying to get a hold of the group. "Rise-san! Anyone! Come in!" Aigis yelled into the speaker, leaving a pause for anyone who would respond, "The culprit has just ran past you! … Can anyone hear me?!" But it was no use; there was no response whatsoever, and because of it, a chance was missed. There was no choice but to carry on the pursuit, relying on nothing but hope that they could catch up with the boy before he could reach the station. The only downside, was that Yukiko was starting to fatigue, and Aigis just couldn't leave her fending for herself in the rain.

Then, just as the boy was about to disappear into the rain's spray, a voice of reassurance suddenly tapped into their heads. _"Aigis! Yukiko! What's wrong?"_echoed a voice from inside their craniums. At first, the voice was startling, but when they listened intently to the tone's softness, they knew it to be Fuuka's voice channeling into them through Juno. "Fuuka!" Yukiko cried out, "Do you know where...?"

"_Yes, I overheard you when you were trying to reach them," _Fuuka replied in the middle of Yukiko's sentence, rushing her words, _"they've already left the hospital. They're ahead of your position." _Though, when they heard this news, Aigis and Yukiko felt more confusion than they did relieved; in fact, when they thought on the amount of distance they covered after passing the hospital, they were still wondering where they were. They weren't anywhere to be seen after all.

"Really? Where?" Aigis asked, just as unsure as Yukiko was. But then, as if by coincidence, a loud crackle suddenly buzzed from the radio, and a voice followed through. _"We're right here, Aigis." _said a husky, masculine voice, almost sounding cocky as well as proud. It didn't take that long to know that the voice belonged to Akihiko, one of the group who was involved with the investigation in the hospital. And before Aigis could grab the walkie talkie, she and Yukiko noticed that they were approaching several individuals in the distance.

They got closer and closer, until they could finally see the full group of people. And looking onto them with expressions of gladness, it was just the people they had hoped for; Rise, Yukari, Naoto and Akihiko. Even more so, the boy was lying on the ground in front of them, catching his breath whilst moaning like he had been inflicted with pain. But when they looked at Akihiko, they could see him rubbing the back of his knuckles; they added the two together and they knew that Akihiko took pleasure in giving a fighter's punch to the boy's face. "You got him!" Yukiko said in praise to the group, also breathing the air in deeply to recover her breath.

"We got out the hospital as fast as we could after Fuuka had contacted us," Naoto explained, getting shocked looks from Aigis and Yukiko when they saw her taking aim at the fallen hoodie with her revolver, "It was lucky that we got out early. Now we can take things easy."

The boy didn't dare move from his position; Naoto's aim was as true as any even though she was only using it to pressure him, and taking the opportunity into his own hands, Akihiko grabbed the culprit's jacket by the shoulders with both of his hands. He yanked him upwards, immediately throwing his arm around his chest to refrain him from escaping and trying to keep a hold of his squirming body. His was still hidden in the hood, . Naoto then walked to the front of the hoodlum and pointed the revolver barrel directly at his head. "Not so high and mighty now, are we?" Akihiko mocked the boy, taking out the walkie talkie again and taking a hold of the button as he held it under his chin, "Yu, you there?" And in no time at all, Yu's voice was heard through the speaker. He still sounded out of breath. _"Akihiko?" _called Yu's breathless voice from the speaker, _"I've been trying to get to you for a while now! The boy's...!"_

"Don't worry about it, we've got him right here. We won't name and shame him just yet though... we'll leave that to the cops." Akihiko interrupted, smiling with a satisfactory expression when he brought the good news. _"You caught him? Ahh, that's great!" _Yu asked with a light tone of relief, _"We're quite far away from you, so try getting some answers now. Also, he's got a blade with him, and I think it might be Minato's, so you're going to need to remove that from him."_

"Got it," Akihiko replied, firming his grip on the boy when he made an attempt to escape, "he doesn't seem to be jumping from place to place this time round, so once we're done with him, we'll send him to the police station afterwards. We'll definitely make some progress then.

"_All right then," _Yu said in full agreement to Akihiko's suggestion, _"in that case. I'll see you all back at the Tatsumi Hall. Make sure you contact the others first before coming back." _With a full, working plan in order, they ended the call there, finally able to relax on both ends of the transmission. And with that, the group proceeded to deal with the boy.

Standing in front of the boy with the revolver still aimed at the culprit's forehead, Naoto watched intently for any sudden moves he might make. "Rise," she called, "could you remove the weapon for me please?" Nodding to her favour, Rise walked over to the boy and unbuttoned his jacket slowly and steadily, moving one side of the coat over so that she could see the blade that was hiding at his side. Whilst keeping an eye on the boy, she reached for the katana, and grabbed a hold of it, only to find that it was fixed in a makeshift scabbard made from several tight knots in worn-out string.

"It might take a while," Rise said as she tried to untangle the knots, "it's tangled in string." The boy reacted to this by attempting to wriggle out of Akihiko's grasp, but after a short burst of energy was wasted, he calmed down again, strangely without saying a single word about it.

Noticing this, Naoto couldn't help but feel quite confused about how different the boy seemed. "You've been awfully quiet... nothing to say in your defence?" Naoto said in a low tone, mocking him while focusing on freeing the katana from the bindings, "Well, it's not like you have any good excuse for endangering people's lives, is it?" But even though her attempts at cracking the boy had some potential to do harm, he still said nothing; not a word nor a sound. He was completely silent.

This level of quietness was more of an annoyance than it was an ominous feeling. It even irritated Yukari somewhat, and it was even enough for her to approach him with an angered stare. "Stop it with the silent treatment... you've been captured so there's no point in keeping secrets from us anymore. Speak while you have the freedom to do it!" she said with sternness, raising her voice the more she kept looking at him, "You will tell us everything, and if you don't we'll do things our way. Firstly, who are you?!"

But even after being asked by one of the meaner girls in the group, the boy continued to stand his ground and keep his silence up. Akihiko shook him with a constricting squeeze of his arresting arm as an incentive, but he could get nothing out of him. Not even a grunt. "Don't make me ask again!" Yukari yelled in his face, upset and fuming, "Who are you?! Tell me, or I'll take that hood off! We're being nice enough to you to even keep it on! Do you want me to take away what dignity you have left?!" But again, there was nothing; no response, no sign of remorse, and not one single reaction to Yukari's screams. It was clear that he had no intention, whatsoever, to give any information away.

"Talk, dammit!" Akihiko shouted in his ear as he shook him again, this time more vigorously and treating it as a last warning. Despite the chances he was given however, the boy just kept his mouth shut, which then led to drastic measures. Yukari looked directly at him with fury in her eyes. "You took our friend's body... you took away someone who was an important person to me... and all you can do is just stand there looking like the proud and despicable person you are...!" she cried out, choked up by the thought of what he had done, "... well you know what? You're going to pay... you're going to pay!"

Then, in an act of rage, she rushed towards him with eyes that looked like she was looking for a kill, and as she held out her hand, she fixed her eyes on the hood like it was a target. But that was exactly what she was going for; she wanted to reveal the culprit once and for all, and from the speed she was gaining and from the incandescent expression on her face, she was like a freight train; nothing could stop her.

But suddenly, the boy finally made his move, and because of how Akihiko didn't expect to see it coming, it made all matters many times worse.

Before Yukari could reach him, the boy thrusted an elbow into Akihiko's abdomen, and from the amount of strength that was forced into his stomach, Akihiko bent over in a winded state, coughing, wheezing and causing himself to lose his grip on the boy. And after breaking himself free, the boy turned his body and pushed Akihiko away, watching as he fell over with his arms clutching his gut. He then swiftly turned round and effortlessly pushed away Yukari's arm; the same arm she would've used to punish him. This not only caused Yukari to fall from her loss of balance, but in the process of dodging, Rise fell onto her front, managing to break the katana free from its bonds.

And to make matters worse, because all of this was happening ever so quickly, Naoto's reactions weren't quick enough to change the direction in her aim. This acted as a window of opportunity to the boy, and he was willing to take it. As he lunged forward, he thrusted a hand upwards, and when it impacted with the hand that carried the gun, Naoto lost the hold on the revolver, causing it to get launched up into the air. No one was quick to notice this happening though, and using quick thinking, the boy hopped slightly to grab the gun, immediately pointing it around everyone when it became comfortable in his grip.

In a short space of mere seconds, the tables had turned dramatically. Now that the boy held the gun, the power suddenly became his own, and every time he alternated his aim between the group members, no one dared to even make one move to grab the revolver from him. With Akihiko down and a gap in the barrier of bodies, the hoodie walked backwards with the gun still pointing in all directions to make his getaway, lifting his head up like he was proud to walk away without being apprehended.

Before the boy could turn himself round, Aigis ran to the front of the group, holding up her hands with fingers darted towards him. "Hold it right there! I won't let you just walk away from here!" she yelled to him as she calibrated her eyes for better clarity. Suddenly, the caps on the tips of her fingers clicked open, and the sound of a reloading gun clanked in her upper arms. Seeing Aigis in her battle stance with multiple guns at the ready, the boy halted in his tracks, holding the revolver up until the barrel was level with her head.

It was now a stand-off between two gunners with each of them coming to a stalemate. They both stood their ground with all eyes on each other's movements, even though all was still at that moment. That was until Naoto grabbed a hold of Aigis' shoulder. "Aigis, don't! We shouldn't do it this way!" she cried out, confident that there had to be another rational way of solving this predicament. She was reluctant to do so, but eventually, Aigis heeded Naoto's plea, lowering her arms to her sides and closing the caps on her fingers. And as she continued to look at him with threatening eyes, she watched him as he continued to walk backwards into the haziness of the rain.

But then, just as he was about to disappear into the vapour, everyone saw his body quickly turn on his heel, continuing his sprint towards the Port Island Station. This alerted everyone to run after him, despite the danger of him having a ranged weapon at his disposal; everyone, apart from Rise who picked Akihiko up to his feet so that he could recover from the pain in his stomach.

"Are you all right, Akihiko-senpai?" Rise asked as she pulled him up by shoulders, trying not to cut him with the blade she was holding in her hand. Rising to his feet though, he continued to cough and hack, trying to expel the discomfort in his abdomen. It was clear to Rise and even himself that he wasn't fit to run with the others at this rate. "Yeah, I'll be fine..." he said as he put an arm round Rise to support himself, "... I don't think I have any air in me to go after him though... and seeing as how we managed to take the blade away from him, it might be worth getting back to the dorm. We'd need to secure the weapon."

Rise couldn't think of anything else better; they couldn't risk the weapon coming into the wrong hands again, but even more importantly, Akihiko's injury sustained long enough so that they had no chance of catching up with the others. The dorm was the only safe place they could go to now, and with that in mind, they made their way back to the Tatsumi Hall. Along the way, Akihiko pulled out his radio again and tweaked it slightly so that he could reach the others down at the Port Island Station. The chances were slim due to the lack of communication with them lately, but Akihiko knew that he had to try; the boy was on the loose and coming their way with a gun after all.

"Yosuke! Pick up!" Akihiko shouted into the walkie talkie, trying to fight back the urge to cough, "Can you hear me over there?!"Just as expected though, there was no reply from the other end of the line, and after a few more tries, there was still nothing come from that side. But then after a long pause of waiting, a crackle and a boom of static suddenly broke through. _"Akihiko-senpai?" _said Yosuke's voice from behind the fuzzy noises, _"Sorry about earlier. The train station's electrical stuff was messing up our signal, but I think we've got it sorted now..."_

* * *

><p><em>0808 – Afternoon – Port Island Station_

* * *

><p>"<em>Listen up, Yosuke..." <em>Akihiko interrupted him with a rush of his voice, _"... we've just had an encounter with one of the culprits and now he's heading your way. You might notice something different about him this time around, so keep your guard up." _His words were hard to hear over the various noises of static that were bursting through the radio as he spoke, but despite it, Yosuke and the others could understand it, and they knew it wasn't good news at all. In fact, upon hearing it, it was all quite a sudden thing to take in. "Whoa, whoa, whoa! Wait a minute!" Yosuke yelled out in panic into the walkie talkie, "He's coming here NOW?!"

"_Yeah, but watch yourselves. He snatched Naoto's gun, so be cautious when capturing him." _Akihiko added as a precaution. But just hearing the word 'gun', the fears of the group rose to a new height, and because Akihiko said that they needed to capture them, they just couldn't see how they could do such a thing when the boy has a lethal weapon with him. "Capture him?! Are you nuts?! He's got a friggin' gun!" Junpei shouted into the radio after grabbing it from Yosuke's hands, too panicky to come to terms with the magnitude of the situation.

"_Look, you've all got to try!"_ Akihiko shouted back, _"We already let him slip through our fingers once today, but we can't just let this opportunity slip by! We have to catch him, or we'll be left with nothing again, and that's happened to us too many times already!" _He had a point, and no one could argue against what he had said. There had been so many moments when they could have gotten answers straight from the horse's mouth, and to catch him would bring some hope to the investigation. _"Okay, I have an idea..." _Akihiko spoke again, more calmly than before, _"... catch him off guard. That way you wouldn't have to worry about the gun. And don't let him get on the monorail. Think you can manage that guys?"_

"Of course, Akihiko. We'll do everything we can to stop him." Mitsuru answered when Junpei passed the speaker over to her. Akihiko gave a sigh through the radio before speaking again. _"All right," _he breathed, _"I'm gonna need to contact Yu now. If there's any chance the culprit does get on the monorail, at least we'll have a group at the next stop to get the jump on him."_

Ending the call there, the group decided on how they were going to approach into the capture of the boy; there was no other plan than what Akihiko offered, so they had to go with the element of surprise. Luckily though, the station was built on pillars, which made more than enough hiding spaces for the group to choose from.

Behind one pillar was Yosuke, Marie and Ken, and behind the one adjacent to them was Junpei and Mitsuru, crouching in preparation for when the boy makes his way into the station. "So, what does this guy look like?" Marie asked Yosuke. At first, Yosuke looked at her like he thought she had amnesia, but when he took a moment to think about it, he remembered that Marie didn't know what these culprits looked like. "Well it depends on which culprit is on the run." Yosuke explained, and went on to list the features of the culprits one after the other, naming as many things as he could about them.

But when Yosuke gave her the details, Marie's reaction was a very unexpected one. She looked at him with a surprised expression that shone through some feeling of shock; Yosuke saw this and felt concerned as to why she would show that kind of look towards a couple of culprits who she had never met before. Even Ken couldn't give a thought to it."Er... what's wrong, Marie-san?" Ken asked with a confused expression.

"Oh, uh, it's nothing," Marie said, shaking her head slightly to bring the worried expression off her face, "it's just that... one of the guys you described to me sounded almost like my friend for a second." And as she looked behind the pillar to check if the boy was in her sights, Yosuke and Ken just couldn't believe what they had just heard. Mitsuru and Junpei were also right about their suspicions from the get-go that something was wrong; Marie's description of her friend and Yosuke's description of one of the culprits matched, and it just wasn't something he could take as a coincidence. "Wait, does that mean...?" Ken whispered to Yosuke, hoping that he was quiet enough for Marie not to notice._  
><em>

Suddenly, Junpei called from the next pillar up. "Get ready, you three!" he whispered over to Yosuke, Marie and Ken, "I can just see him coming up. Hide!" The three turned their heads around the corner of the pillar and tried to get a good peek of where the boy might be. They could just see his silhouette running up to the entrance through the rain's vapour, and before they could have a chance to blow their cover, they drew their heads back and prepared themselves for their capture attempt. Junpei took one more quick look around his pillar before hiding his head to see how far the boy was from reaching the station entrance.

"Okay," he whispered to Yosuke, "Ready..." As the boy came closer and closer, Junpei kept his eyes around the corner, counting down until they could come out from their hiding spots to get the jump on the boy. At this point, they could all hear the sprinting footsteps getting louder and louder as he came closer. "... steady..." Junpei whispered again as he heard the footsteps reaching the cobblestone stairs that lead into the station. Nerves were starting to rise for the four, and negative thoughts were running through their heads; they asked themselves if they would catch him or what the outcome will be if they fail to. There was no time to answer with positive thinking, because in no time, the boy was about to run through the middle of the entrance.

"Now!" Junpei yelled, propelling himself and Yosuke from behind the pillars. Leaping out of cover, they collided with the boy, falling onto the marble flooring with the culprit in their hands. Yosuke and Junpei yanked at the boy's jacket as they scrambled to their feet, lifting him up and holding him by the chest of the coat. "Ha! We've got you now, you bastard!" Yosuke cried out in triumph as he and Junpei moved him over to one of the pillars, pushing the boy up against it whilst holding him by the collar. The boy just looked down at his feet, trying to keep his identity concealed in the hood. Yosuke and Junpei looked down with him and could see the revolver that held in the hoodie's hand; they knew they had to be careful.

Upon catching him though, they all noticed how quite the boy was; he never spoke a word nor made a sound, and even after shaking his collar a few times, he didn't respond. He just stood with his back against the pillar, being threatened, and not one expression was made to show it. "Cat got your tongue or something, pal?!" Junpei shouted in the hood's face, turning his head to the side to try and get a look of the face that was hiding beneath the hood. There was no answer; his lips were sealed, and with every intention of keeping them that way.

"It's gonna be like that now, is it?" Yosuke said with a bully-like tone, "Well, we'll get something out of you eventually. Maybe the cops have a way." After having his say, Yosuke and Junpei looked to one another, giving a nod like they had the same idea in mind. But before they could do anything with the boy, they were suddenly cut off by Marie. "No! What do you think you're doing?! You're hurting him!" she screamed in their ears, punching the back of their shoulders and trying to pull them away from the boy.

"What are you talking about?! OW!" Junpei shouted, reacting to Marie's punches with a shout to relieve the pain. Soon after Marie was starting to throw heavier punches, Mitsuru quickly jumped in and pulled her away from the two, holding her when she tried to pry herself from her grasp. "That's my friend! Stop interrogating him, you assholes!"

And just like that, everyone became dumbstruck; there was no sign of a lie that came from Marie's mouth. Everyone was speechless, and to see this turn events happening was something none of them wanted to believe. Her anger from seeing Yosuke and Junpei holding the boy captive was proof of it though. "WHAT?!" Yosuke and Junpei bawled with disbelief, turning their heads towards Marie with looks of shock.

But this then only gave the boy a chance for an escape. Whilst they were distracted, the hoodlum grabbed Yosuke and Junpei's heads and crushed them together, causing them to lose balance and even leaving them with an excruciating pain in their skulls that caused dizziness. When their grips on him were loosened, he brushed their hands away and pushed them towards Mitsuru and Marie, and because of how dizzy the two became, they had no time to regain their stability and ran straight into the girls.

The next thing they knew, they were hearing the boy's footsteps running away from them, and because of the echoes they were emitting, they knew he was heading for the monorail station. But it wasn't long after when they got up to their feet that they heard another sound of footsteps coming from behind them, and when they turned their heads round, they could see the other groups running towards them with the same threat in their eyes. "What happened?! Is he here?!" Naoto shouted to the group, just as afraid of everyone else that he had gotten past Yosuke and the others.

"Yeah, but he's going to get on a monorail if we don't hurry!" Yosuke replied with a fearful shout, leading the others in his group, along with everyone else, towards the main hall where the monorails are parked.

It was not looking good; they may have captured him twice, but their efforts at keeping the boy in their custody failed them to the point where he was virtually unstoppable. All they could do now was push to their limits. It was either to catch him before the monorail leaves, or to not catch him at all; two options which weighed heavily upon their shoulders.

Fortunately for the team, the boy had been sprinting non-stop, and his speed had decreased dramatically over the course of time so that he could only jog. But the downside to this chase was that an overhead digital clock announced that the next monorail was about to leave very soon; the problem was that the monorail was right in their sights and the boy was only a short jog away from entering it.

"Oh no..." Aigis murmured before raising her voice to the hoodlum, "... we won't let you escape! We won't!" But even though her words her threatening, they didn't seem to make the boy pay any mind to them whatsoever; he just kept on running. There wasn't any point for him to pay any attention to them though, he was only a few steps away from the monorail doors.

"_The next monorail service to Iwatodai Station will now be departing," _boomed the sudden announcement from all speakers in the station, _"Please mind the doors." _That was the last thing everyone wanted to hear.

"Dammit, c'mon!" Junpei yelled as he pushed himself to sprint that little bit faster. But even though they managed to catch up to the boy, they watched with furious looks at the culprit who managed to slip past the monorail doors as they were closing, shutting them out with only an inch of distance that wouldn't been crucial to finally catching him.

Angered and frustrated at themselves, they took out their rage on the windows that the boy stood behind, using a force that would've been close to smashing it. Even if that was the intention, they couldn't break through no matter how hard they tried. It was cruelty of the shatterproof glass. But that's all they could do though; that, and just watching the monorail slowly depart from the station along the tracks, giving them a gentle, yet regretful reminder that they failed in arresting the culprit. "God... DAMMIT!" Yosuke bellowed, releasing the fury that built up to boiling point inside him.

"Why the hell did you do that?!" Marie yelled at everyone, burning with an incandescent rage. At first, some of them thought that she was just being very critical of their own actions that resulted in the failure of the mission, and because of it, they weren't in the mood at all to argue against her. "We tried, Marie, okay?!" Naoto argued on behalf of everyone. But Yosuke and the other members in his group knew that she was misunderstanding.

As Mitsuru explained Marie's distress in detail, everyone slowly became more understanding of what Marie was trying to say; but this also changed the expressions of everyone, going from looks of great frustration to looks of disbelief and shock. No one could've imagined it turning out this way. "You're saying that HE was your friend?" Yukari asked, unable to imagine how it could be considered understandable, "He's the one that's been putting us into the TV! He's our enemy!"

"I know, I know that already! It's just..." Marie defended, only to lose herself mid-sentence to try to find the right words, "... it's just that... did he trick me into believing that he was a good guy? Just to put me into the TV world?" It was clear that Marie felt as cheated as everyone else did; from what she had said about him before, she genuinely thought she found a friend in the midst of trying to find the answers to how her powers were stripped of her. Finding out this way was very bad luck, and all she could feel was betrayal. It was even worse not knowing why he suddenly did what he did that day.

"W-Well..." Yosuke spoke out of the silence, trying to find something to say after seeing how distressed Marie was, "... it might be an idea to contact Yu, actually. We can't just stand here and hope that the guy suddenly has handcuffs on." He quickly grabbed the walkie talkie from his side and twisted the dials until he could get a good frequency. When he put the radio to his teeth, he hoped that Yu and the others got the news from Akihiko earlier on; if he had to believe in anything, he had to believe in his bro and the saying 'third time's the charm'.

Before he could send out the transmission, Fuuka's voice suddenly came into their heads. _"Oh no... was I too late?" _she asked with a dispirited tone, somewhat feeling guilty for not getting herself across to the group in time, _"... I thought you guys would've been too far to get to in time..."_

"It's not your fault, Fuuka," Yosuke said in reassurance to the voice in his head, "I'm just about to contact Yu now; he and the others are on their way to the Iwatodai Station where the culprit is heading now. I just need to let him know." And as he turned back to the radio, he pressed the button to start the transmission.

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><p><em>0808 – Afternoon – Outside the Iwatodai Station_

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><p>"<em>Yu? Dude, you there?" <em>called Yosuke's voice from Yu's side. The static that was emitting from the walkie talkie was very interfering with the transmission, but it was enough to get through to Yu. He picked the radio up and pressed the speaker on his lips. "Yosuke," he spoke through his breathlessness, "good news I hope?" Anything positive would've done the group a lot of good at that moment, and after hearing Yosuke's voice, he was quite hopeful that they had apprehended the criminal. But when he heard a sigh of dejection break through the static, he prepared himself for the worst.

"_Nope, he got on the monorail," _he replied with a fed up tone, sighing again but more deeply, _"looks like it's up to you now, partner." _Yosuke genuinely sounded guilty that his best friend had to take on the full weight of responsibility of catching the guy. To hear that concerned tone from his bro felt somewhat comforting to Yu, and it acted as a very good motivator. "Yeah, looks that way..."he joked, managing to find the Iwatodai Station in the distance, "...oh well, at least we don't have to run anymore."

"_Whoop-de-doo..." _Yosuke replied with pessimism, sounding exhausted from the recent marathon he had to run. Yu couldn't blame him though; he'd been through a lot more than what he did, judging from the loss of breath he was experiencing. "Let's just hope all goes well. I'll let you know when something comes up, okay?"

"_Sure thing. Oh, be careful as well, dude. He took Naoto's gun earlier on, so stay cautious."_ Yosuke suggested before Yu put the radio in his pocket. He had been told by Akihiko only moments ago that the boy now had a revolver as his new tool of destruction. And as he and his group approached the Iwatodai Station, their nerves acted up when they couldn't take their minds off the gun. Too many mistakes had been made though, and they had to catch him to make up for all the times there was a slip-up. The pressure was well and truly on.

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><p><em>0808 – Afternoon – Iwatodai Station_

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><p>After climbing the marbled steps up to the heart of the station, all they could do now was to play the waiting game, catching their breath in the meantime. "Senpai," Kanji called to Yu, placing his hands on his hips whilst arching his back, "next time we're out and about chasing down criminals... count me out." Even though Kanji had done his fair share of chasing culprits down in the past, everyone could understand him; this chase had gone on for far longer than expected, and the marathons they had to run just for this one boy seemed very ridiculous for the group.<p>

"Yeah, I agree with you, Kanji-kun," Chie said with a nod of approval, holding her knees as she bent forwards, "how can that guy run so far? Is he an athlete or something?" No one had the oxygen to answer her question, but the breathlessness of everyone very much summed it up. Even Koromaru was exhausted, and he was the most energetic member of the team. "C'mon guys, we've made it this far..." Yu encouraged, "... besides, we're in a good position right now. We just need to wait for him and get him as soon as the doors open." His plan may have sounded simple, but Yu knew that it wasn't all going to go to plan. The boy had managed to escape from an arrest twice that day, so they had to pull their weight and prepare themselves should something like that happen again.

"_Keep your guard up, guys!" _emerged the resonating sound of Fuuka's voice in their minds, _"The train's not too far from where you are now." _After hearing her warning, their time to recover their breath had to be cut short, because in the distance, they could hear a loud screeching noise that became louder and louder the more they listened to it. Casting their eyes on the source of the noise, they saw the monorail coming towards the station with the wheels on its tracks causing the screeches of the scraping metals. _"Get ready, guys!" _Yu ordered the group, leading them to the edge of the platform where the waited for the monorail to stop.

As the train came in, they all looked into the windows to try and find a hooded figure. His features were very distinct, so they had no excuse of missing him; fixing the image of the boy in their heads, they desperately tried to find the one that matches the features, looking into the train as the windows rolled passed them one by one. Soon enough though, the monorail came to a full stop, giving them more of a chance of finding him.

"_Due to weather conditions, this will be the final stop for today's monorail service," _said the virtual voice of the monotone train announcement, _"We are sorry for any inconvenience this may cause. Thank you." _It was quite humorous to hear the word 'inconvenience' when the train stopped at their feet; it was as if the announcement doomed the hoodlum to facing the group with an intention to give justice. But setting the jokes aside, the group already found a problem.

The boy was nowhere to be found in the train. "The heck?" Chie said with a look of confusion, bringing her head closer to the window and darting her eyes in all directions in an attempt to find even one person on the train, "He definitely got on the monorail, right?" Everyone else was just as unsure as she was. The fact was that the boy had, without a doubt, got on the train; but the uncertainty of still being on it was there as well, and when the doors opened, they were expecting someone with his hood up to run out. But instead, there was an ominous stillness about that place that made the group feel very worried about why the train was this empty. "This guy's more slippery than we thought..." Kanji remarked, irked when he pictured the boy's usual smug look in his mind.

"_I can sense him..." _Fuuka informed with a tone of certainty, _"... he's definitely on the monorail, but I can't quite pinpoint whereabouts though."_

"All right," Yu said with a nervous sigh, "he might be hiding inside. Let's check it out." Following his orders, everyone went up to the different sections of the train, one for each of the four sections that made up the monorail. As Yu went into the front of the train, the others went to the ones behind; Chie took the second, Koromaru took the third and Kanji went into the last.

It was like going back to square one. But instead of searching for the boy as a group, they had to split up to cover more ground; although this was a dangerous move, considering that the culprit now had a gun in his possession, they couldn't risk losing him now; they've come too far for that to happen, and they've been through so much more than just a gun in hand.

They looked around the seats and around the small corners that hid behind the partitioning where the doors were. They could understand why there would be no one on the monorail since the downpour would've been a huge deterrent for a lot of people, but they just couldn't understand how the boy could just disappear when he was clearly on the train.

But during the time they were looking, they suddenly came to a realisation. The amount of the day they had been spending on capturing the boy had distracted them from considering the thought, but when they finally tapped into it, a dispirited feeling was all they felt. The remembered how the boy could travel from one place to another in just a blink of an eye, and suddenly felt downed by remembering that fact.

Then, questions starting springing into their heads. If the boy had just teleported at this moment, why go through all the trouble of being chased around the city? This line of thinking only produced problems, and just thinking about it brought about more questions in their heads, almost to the point when the conflicting ideas were becoming a headache. All they could do for the moment, however, was to keep searching.

Meanwhile, in the last section of the train, Kanji was having trouble with his own search, just as everyone else was in their own sections of the monorail. "Where the hell did this bastard go?" he asked himself out loud, raising his voice when the lengthy search was getting him riled, "Hey, we know you're here, you little shit! We will find you! And when we will, I'll -"

"_Kanji-kun! Behind you!" _yelled out an alarmed Fuuka, cutting off Kanji from finishing his , a thud boomed from behind, and when he darted his towards the source to check what caused it, it was like a whole event just flashed right before his eyes.

The boy seemed to have jumped from the overhead luggage holder and landed on the floor, running down the aisle to head for the door. As Kanji saw this, a fire built up in his eyes with a fury that turned his body right round to chase him down. "There you are! Get back here!" he yelled with a shaking fist. But it was only when he got halfway down the aisle that the boy managed to escape the train, punching a button that was on the side of the doors as he left, which indicated the word 'Close Doors' on it with red colours.

Kanji was almost out to continue the pursuit, but just when he reached the nearby door, they immediately shut on him from both sides, causing him to collide with the windows face first before trying to get out to catch up with the boy. _"Oh, c'mon c'mon c'mon!" _he shouted to himself as he mashed at the button that said 'Open Doors' next to him, even resorting to punching them when there was a delay in the mechanism. Eventually though, the doors opened slowly and Kanji managed to slip through the rubbery narrow gap in between them when they weren't quick enough, beginning to sprint after the boy while shouting curses to him.

Yu, Chie and Koromaru's heads suddenly sprung up see what the commotion was outside, and when they spotted Kanji chasing the hoodlum, they alerted themselves to follow them. "There he is!" Yu cried out in alarm as he made his way out of the front section of the train, seeing Chie and Koromaru entering the chase with him as they emerged from all other sections. It was difficult having to get back into sprinting after having their unfair share of it, but they've already let him escape from the station, so it was all or nothing for them now.

Finally catching up with Kanji, they couldn't help but feel like they were experiencing a déjà vu happening as they ran; it was like they were going through the start of the chase all over again, only this time the boy was heading deeper into the city. From this point onwards, all of this was new territory to the group, with the exception of Koromaru; uncertainty filled their minds with doubt as they delved deeper and deeper into the urban jungle, and because of the many buildings that were dotted around the environment, they didn't know what to expect when they came around each corner.

Surprisingly, even though Tatsumi Port Island was very well known for it's attitude to thriving with bustling people, they still couldn't find one person who was out and about to see all of this happening. It was without a doubt that it was due to the dreadful weather conditions, but to find no one at all made the city seem like a ghost town. Shaking the eerie feeling off, however, they just considered the people lucky that they weren't involved in pursuing a criminal whilst being soaked to the skin by the never-ending showers.

Soon enough though, the hoodlum suddenly took a sharp turn around the corner, which at first was startling for the group since they had been running in a straight line for quite some time. But when they followed suit, they immediately found the boy running across the road where no cars were operating; without looking left or right, and without hearing a single engine, they did the same, finding a dusty building in the middle of the street. Apart from all other buildings though, this one was quite smaller in terms of width at its base, but had a different exterior design to everything else around it. From the dustiness and the darkness of the building though, it looked abandoned and without any life in it.

But then, as soon as they looked back to the boy, they saw him running up to that same building, confused as well as worried as to why he would go to such a place. However, when they cast their minds back to last night when they rescued Marie, they remembered, with some difficulty, what she said to them. _"__...there was a kind of 'hideout' we used to share, and that was quite a safe place...I just hope he went there..." _Yu reminded himself, being the first to realise it.

"That's his hideout!" Yu shouted to the others, alerting them of what the situation has become, "hurry!" This was crucial now; Marie called it a 'safe place' and a 'hideout' for a reason, and if the culprit managed to enter the building, it would most likely be a game over. They only had a short gap to fill between themselves and the boy left, and to come this far was excruciating enough. They needed something good to come out of this.

But just when they came so close to catching him, the hoodlum's body suddenly turned round to face them, swiftly lifting the gun up to them as he used the barrel to set his aim. Immediately, the group halted when they saw that small dark circle facing them with a threatening sense of pressure; Yu had felt this feeling before, remembering the fear he had when that certain someone held his own revolver up to his lobe. It was like reliving that same moment inside the Magatsu Inaba, when that person with the detective's suit and red tie threatened to kill him and his friends. He could feel the adrenaline rushing inside him with fright, and he could sense that in the others as well.

"_What?" Why did you guys stop?" _Fuuka asked, unaware of what was happening on the other side of the city. No one dared answered though, in case the boy was quick to react to anything other than movement.

Keeping the gun held up with a straight arm, the boy slowly proceeded to the entrance doors, keeping a watchful eye on the group in case of any sudden movements. Just watching a culprit getting away with a loaded gun in their face was agonising to see, and every time they took a sneaky step forward, the boy firmed his hand as a warning, which made some of them flinch when they saw it.

When the boy had finally reached the doors though, the group had a feeling of defeat that slowly built up in them when they saw all of this unfolding in front of them, unable to do anything about it. Then suddenly, the hoodie bursted through the double-doors as he quickly placed the revolver in his jacket pocket, running into the abandoned building to make a quick getaway. "No! Come back here!" Chie yelled as the boy ran through the doorway, alerting everyone to run after him before the worst could potentially be realised.

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><p><em>0808 - Afternoon - ? ? ?_

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><p>As they swung the doors open and ran inside what looked like a lounge, they were shocked to see that the boy was nowhere to be seen. And worse yet, the reason why he had suddenly disappeared from thin air was standing in the middle of the room, tucked between a perpendicular partitioning that acted as a corner. It was a TV that was unplugged from its mains, but even so, the screen said differently. Ripples of different shades of green acted like water around the glass, and the lighted background showed a murky jade colour with patterns that were reminiscent to that of a static screen.<p>

It was the last thing they wanted to see, and just seeing those last bits of evidence in the TV screen fade out into a normal glass state, a huge feeling of frustration downed the spirits of the group greatly. "Shit, shit, shit, shit..." Kanji muttered to himself before walking up to the nearby counter and smashing a fit down onto the hardened wood, "...SHIT!" Everyone else felt the same way; Chie stamped her foot in anger, clenching her fists as if she wanted to punch something, and Koromaru lowered his head to the floor, growling and snarling with a fury only dogs his breed knows.

Yu, even though he knew his efforts were all for nothing, tried to think calmly of the situation; he walked towards the TV and placed a hand on the screen to check if what they saw was true. Feeling the rippling sensations on his hand, he couldn't deny the fact that the boy had managed to escape everything altogether. Within that knowledge, he slammed his palm on top of the TV in an act of releasing the rage that built up in him.

"_Wait, I don't sense him anymore!" _Fuuka cried out in panic, _"Where on earth could he have gone? It's like he just disappeared!" _The group couldn't react to it though; they were too peeved to even say anything, and they didn't like to be reminded of their failure. From the start of the chase to the end of it, they were unsuccessful, and it was a very bitter pill to swallow. "No, Fuuka... he got away..." Yu said with low, discontented tone, "... he escaped into the TV world..."

"_Really? There's a TV where you are?" _Fuuka asked, quite baffled at how the boy could suddenly go into the TV world after having entered an abandoned building. No one could've said much; it was just a building that had no one living in it. There was no colour to it, and it was dead inside. There was literally nothing to it. Koromaru seemed to disagree though. He scampered around the place, darting his head in all directions at all the things that caught his interest, such as the nearby bookshelf, the coffee table and even the dining table that sat at the furthest end of the room. It was like he knew where he was, even when the others didn't.

But then Fuuka's voice resonated back into their minds. _"Oh my goodness..." _she breathed, somewhat surprised, _"... you're in our old dorm!" _Suddenly, it all became clear. The group remembered Mitsuru telling them about their transition from the dorm they were standing in to the Tatsumi Hall, and Koromaru seemed to know the place well. They knew Fuuka wasn't playing around; they were standing in the place where everything, from Minato's awakening to his selfless act of saving the world, happened. Taking one last glance at it, they could see the many stories that history had to tell, and when they spotted the staircase at the far end of the room, the could tell that there was much more to see upstairs; especially in Minato's room. "So this was your old dorm..." Yu muttered to the voice of Fuuka, amazed by the cathartic aspects of the dorm that made him feel like he had been sent back two years ago.

However, there were many questions spinning around in his head. But before he could begin to answer any of them, he made one thing clear in his mind. "He must've been the one Marie befriended. If he wasn't, then why go through all the trouble of being her friend just to lure her into the TV?" he asked out loud, making it a definite fact in his head. There were other thoughts revolving around his cranium, but due to the lightheadedness he was feeling, he couldn't think clearly."A-Achoo!" Yu sneezed, feeling like all heaviness in his brain was suddenly pushed forward into his eyes.

"_I think we'll discuss things further back at the hall, guys..." _Fuuka suggested, sounding concerned when she heard the sniffles of the group and the sneeze of the leader, _"... we shouldn't stay in the rain for too long or else we'll come down with sickness... get back as quickly as you can. I'll contact the others of the situation." _With that, along with the bitter taste of defeat, the group nodded to each other to indicate their leave from the dorm. Fuuka was right; the longer they would stay in the rain, the more of the chance of catching something that could potentially cause problems for future operations in the TV world. But the symptoms were already starting to show, so for that moment they had to take their minds off of their failure and concentrate on heading back to the Tatsumi Hall.

Their clothes were completely soaked through, their objectives were left unfulfilled and their chances at obtaining crucial information were stripped away from them. Because of how rotten the day had gone for them all members of the team on both ends of the city wanted to think that there was some silver-lining to this back luck; in their case, nothing could make this day any worse.

**Well, I can safely say this chapter is easily the second-longest chapter I've wrote so far! TWENTY-FIVE AND A HALF pages! Anyway, I'll leave you on that very bitter note, and please do look forward to the next chapter! Keep reading and reviewing, and keep on shining! CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Kanji: Man, I've been pissed off a lot in my life... but... this just tops it._

_Akihiko: It's not doubt that we're all still bugged about today... but at least it wasn't a total waste._

_Naoto: Doesn't anyone find it odd that that the return of the Midnight Channel, the Dark Hour and Tartarus all revolve around Minato?_

_Junpei: None of this makes any sense! How can taking someone's body cause them to come back?_

_Akihiko: They're planning something big, and what they've already done now has contributed to that._


	39. Off-Air

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Thirty-Nine_

_Off-Air_

**Woohoo! Hello again for the thirty-ninth time everyone, and hope for many hellos after! Wow, that last chapter was quite a brutal one to write; not only was it a hard sequence of events to write in that specific order, but the length of it was just waaaay too much for me! Oh well... it was still quite fun to write! Anyway, I think it's time to take things a little easier now, so without further ado... LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0808 – Evening – Tatsumi Hall_

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><p>Nothing could've made everyone more miserable. Left without any new knowledge on the culprits' motives, and with colds consisting of sniffling and sneezing, they all made their way back to the hall; all except the few who had to return there early due to the circumstances that arose during the chase. Some thought them lucky, and some just wished they were as dry as they were. However, because the monorail was out of service for the time being, and because there were no other means of transport, they had to go back on foot. They couldn't care any less though; they couldn't get any more drenched than they were.<p>

Because of the distance they were from the Tatsumi Hall, the last group to return was Yu's, coming through the doors with glum looks and hunches of their bodies every time they let out a sharp cough; as well as their hair, their coats and jackets were dripping with rainwater, and in Koromaru's case, he struggled to shake himself of the excess water in his grey fur. They could see everyone else sitting around the coffee table with the TV switched on. "Oh good, you're all back," Akihiko greeted, sounding like he had fully recovered from his injury, "we need to have a discussion tonight. But I suggest you all have a hot shower first before you come down with something. We don't wanna get sick when the Midnight Channel is airing tonight."

"You don't need to tell me – Achoo!" Yu joked as he took off his jacket and placed it on the nearby coat hanger, sneezing in the process of doing so. He looked like death from the state he was in, and the same could be said of Chie, Kanji and Koromaru. But even so, the whole lounge was dotted with the same sickly faces; most of them had already had the luxury of a shower, and some were either trying to relieve the aches in their muscles on the sofas or just on their way to have one.

"Man, I've been pissed off a lot in my life," Kanji breathed in a relief of his anger, "but... this just tops it." No one could've put it better themselves. But even though they have the cold sniffles and the heavily dampened clothes to remind them, they tried not to think about it. They just headed up to their rooms, hoping that water in their showers was hot.

"Oh, Yu," Marie called to him as she rose from her seat, "do you want me to help you to your room?" Just as Yu reached the banister, his head instantly turned towards her with a look that suggested that she was only putting herself into more trouble. Marie knew what he was thinking, but she just didn't want to care; she had made a huge mistake that she felt had caused the boy's escape, and even to befriend him in the first place was something she couldn't help but feel guilty herself. "It's just a way of saying sorry. You don't need to look at me like that."

Yu could understand what she was trying to do for him, but her dejected look suggested otherwise. It wasn't that Yu didn't see her offer as an excuse to have time alone with him, but he knew that she still harboured those obvious feelings inside of her, and he could only reply with a look of guilt to her. He scanned his eyes across the room to where Rise was sat, and noticing her look of understanding that mixed in with her expression of sadness, he couldn't find the right words in his head to tell Marie; however, there were only words that would only be fair to say, and Yu wasn't a one to give a blatant lie to someone he cares about. "It's nice of you to offer Marie," Yu replied apologetically, "but it's just that... well, you know why..."

Marie sighed, lowering her head to the floor. "Yeah... I get it..." she said with melancholy, averting her eyes from Yu, "just... whatever..." This reaction Yu saw from her was to be expected, but nonetheless, he didn't feel good about himself at all. All he could do was sigh, knowing that he had to do the right thing even though it would inevitably cause her heartache. "Marie... we'll talk about it..." he said in an attempt to reassure her, only to receive no response, "... it must be hard for you, I know... I don't want this to affect our friendship with each other. I know you must be upset with me and Rise and you every right to be... but can't we sort it out together? Just me, you and Rise?"

There was a long, uncomfortable pause between the two. But just as Yu was about to lose confidence in their relationship, Marie shrugged her shoulders as she walked away, still trying to look away from him. It was nothing to be glad about, but despite it, Yu felt that there was some hope left for them both, and for Rise. For that moment though, Yu proceeded on to his room with only one idea on his mind; a hot shower.

Climbing the stairs, however, was not the easiest thing Yu had done all day. He had ran up and down across half of Iwatodai and had barely dodged a queue of traffic that could've ran him over; but those obstacles, upon many others they had to overcome during the chase, were just the very things that made climbing stairs all the more harder. Yu took a full grasp of the banister as he walked up, grimacing with each step as he felt the aching in his leg muscles. It was fortunate that the boy's floor was only one flight of stairs away, so Yu didn't have to strain as hard; he could only think that the girls had it harder.

Soon enough though, he was in his room, feeling the heat flowing from the air ventilation as he walked in. The warm feeling was just heavenly to the touch, and he could feel his soaked skin absorbing it with a welcomely embrace. This was just the room though, but as he fixed his eyes on the ensuite, he didn't stop to hesitate. He grabbed a towel from the nearby chest-drawer and walked into the bathroom, closing the door behind him with a twist of the lock.

All that was left now was to enjoy the rest. Removing his clothes and stepping into the glass cube where the shower was, he turned the hot taps on with a desperate clockwise turn of his wrist. And immediately, the water sprung out from the shower-head; the steam was thick and enveloped Yu in an air of warm fog. Never had a shower felt more nicer in his life, but the fact that he was safe from the rain and inside the dorm made it all the more cosier.

Slowly, but surely, the groggy sensations subsided from his body, almost like the sickness was draining away into the plughole; Yu felt fully rejuvenated, and better yet, the sniffles eventually stopped. After using a handful of shampoo and a spot of conditioner, the grimy feeling was washed away with the shower water. Shortly after, Yu had to go through the hard part of turning the water off and stepping into the cold air of the bathroom.

He quickly grabbed the nearby towel and dried himself down, grabbing another towel from near the sink after wrapping the first around his waist. He then opened the door to make his leave from the ensuite and watched as the steam glided through the doorframe. The heat of the ventilation then took over and invited Yu to a new set of clothes from inside the wardrobe. As he walked over to open the double-doors to the clothes that were available to him, he used the second towel to dry his hair, throwing it on the feet-end of the bed when he was done with it.

In no time at all, Yu had picked out his favourite buttoned dark-grey shirt, and in only a short matter of time, he had a full set of clothes over his body; he'd never felt this fresh in a long time, even though the thought of a possible expedition in the TV world was there to ruin the feeling. Nonetheless, if such an event were to happen, the sickness bug wouldn't be there to bring him down; he hoped that everyone else had rid themselves of their colds as well.

After buttoning his shirt up just before the neck and straightening his collar, he took his Teddie glasses from the bedside table along with his Evoker, placing them in his chest pocket and holster. Preparation was key; Yu knew that too well, and updating his ways of doing so had to be important as well. So, as a precaution, Yu went back downstairs with both items at the ready. It was a couple of hours early to be handling these two crucial pieces of equipment, but it was better to be safe than sorry, considering that there was only one person's Shadow left to conquer.

Because it was Yukari that was doomed to be next, according to the culprits, the chances were extremely high, and Yu knew as well as anyone else in the dorm that they couldn't afford to let her become victimised to the TV world. The factors were all there, and if she were to end up in the TV world, the end result could be perilous; not just for Yukari, but for the whole team as well. But should it all come to the worst, everyone will know what to do. Everyone will be waiting with Yukari safe in their company.

Yu didn't want to think about it, nor even consider it to even happen, but he couldn't just neglect it either. Despite it though, he went back downstairs with a neutral look on his face, joining everyone who had already congregated around the ring of sofas. Even Nanako was there to lift everyone's spirits. Just watching everyone giggle around her was the very thing that Yu needed to settle his thoughts down; she was holding out a variety of gemstones and sparkling nuggets that she found in the Be Blue V store and even took pleasure in showing them off, despite how insignificant she might have thought of her souvenirs; she always saw the best aspects in little things, and anyone could say the same for herself. It was almost like she could make any small thing look interesting, and even though the majority of the team were adolescents and adults, they found it quite surprising how Nanako was making these fake gemstones look like little commodities. Nevertheless though, it was making everyone else happy, and it was like the whole failure that downed their spirits in the first place was dispelled entirely from their train of thought.

"Ooh, and I got this one as well!" Nanako cried out ecstatically, rummaging her hand through another small bag next to her. She struggled to get the item out with one hand, and the bulkiness in the bag was a slight clue of how big it was. After reaching into the bag with the other hand, she slowly unveiled what seemed to be like a small chest box; it had luxurious designs all over the box, and the painted pictures on the wood looked like it was done by hand. There was a small latch that acted as the lock, and as Nanako opened it with a flick, she slowly lifted the top of the box open. Of course though, it was empty, but quite spacious for such a small box.

"I thought it looked kinda pretty, so I bought it. And the man behind the desk gave it to me at half the price." she explained, excited to show off her purchase. They all couldn't help but admit at how antique-like it was; it may have looked like just a box, but the designs were very appealing to the eye. "My, you have a very good eye for antiques, Nanako-chan. Tres bien!" Mitsuru praised Nanako, admiring the woodwork on the surface of the box.

"Teehee. Thanks!" Nanako thanked with a grateful sweetness in her tone, "Oh, and the man told me something else about the box. He said that, if you put something in it that others will remind you of, and you gave the box to someone else, that person will hold onto that memory of you. So, when you open it, the thing inside it will help them remember them." Everyone knew there had to be some story behind the box to make it sound like more than what it was actually letting on. But when Nanako explained the purpose of it, it actually sounded plausible.

"Wow, that's gotta be the first time a product from that kind of place had a real use."Junpei joked. Though many of the group chuckled, they all couldn't agree more with him. Yu had even bought a strength band from the same store, only to find that it was a scammed product; but when he looked at Nanako's box, there was more than enough integrity in the purchase of the product for it to have a legitimate purpose. "Well, at least it's not something that claims to have a genie inside it." Akihiko humoured after Junpei, receiving more chuckles and laughter in reception.

"Well, actually..." Teddie spoke up with a index finger that seemed to suggest contradiction. Immediately though, Yosuke raised a hand. "No, Teddie," he interrupted, "whatever you bought, I can guarantee you, there isn't any genie involved." Yosuke knew that Teddie would believe any superstition once he's heard of it, and knowing that he was with Nanako the whole time they were out, especially in Be Blue V, Yosuke felt the need to spare him of his stupidity, even though he was always up for hearing the most ridiculous things from him.

Rather unexpectedly though, Teddie gave a look that suggested how wrong Yosuke was. "I wasn't going to say anything about this 'genie' guy!" he denied with an annoyed look that directed itself to Yosuke. Teddie took a moment to calm down and cleared his throat before speaking again."What I was going to say, before I was rudely interrupted..." he said, giving a dirty look to the ginger-haired kid, "... was that I actually bought the same thing Nana-chan did!" And as he excitedly rustled his hands through the bag next to him, he pulled out another box with the same design, size and woodwork.

Teddie and Nanako held out their boxes in front of them, and as everyone made their individual comparisons, there was literally no difference between them, apart from the slight differences in paintwork that no one else could've possibly noticed. "I had to pay full price for this box," Teddie began to explain, "but Nana-chan and I had a thought. What if we gave one box to the Investigation Team with S.E.E.S memoirs in it, and we gave the other to S.E.E.S with the Investigation Team's stuff inside it? That way, when all of this is over and we go our separate ways, we'll all have something to remember each other by!"

"Wow, Teddie," Fuuka said, smiling at Teddie's unnaturally clever thinking, "that's actually not a bad idea at all." Fuuka and many of S.E.E.S were quite impressed with his way of thinking; the Investigation Team, however, gave shocked and amazed expressions at how Teddie came up with something like that. Normally he would be the clown of the group and come up with ideas ranging from ridiculous to just plain impossible, but this time around, everything he said was very competent.

"Well, would you look at that," Kanji said, leaning forward in his seat with a more calmer expression than before, "looks like Teddie's skull isn't that thick after all. Good thinking, man." As a gesture of gratitude, Teddie looked towards the beach-blonde boy with a wide grin on his face, opening his arms up to him and picking himself up to his feet. Kanji knew what he was going to do, and before Teddie could make a step towards him, Kanji held up an authoritative finger with a turn of his head, transitioning his look from being impressed with him to warning him. Seeing this, Teddie just sat back down on the carpet next to Nanako, brushing Kanji off with a wave of his hand.

"We've only been here a week and we're already thinking about what happens when we go back to Inaba?" Chie asked, somewhat feeling like their stay hadn't been that long, "I mean, it's nice to think about what we might want to do when all of this is over. But... it is quite a sad thought."

Just as Chie said this, the room went silent, only leaving the sound of the rain to turn the air bitter. The thought of the two groups splitting up was something none of them really considered up until that moment. And just thinking about it was very sobering; it was like Chie said, it was quite a sad thought, and no matter how much they tried to dispel it from their heads, they couldn't help but know that the collaboration between the Investigation Team and S.E.E.S will most definitely have to end at some point sooner or later.

"I understand what you mean, Chie-san," Aigis spoke out of the quietness, trying to force an optimistic attitude, "even I feel quite unhappy at the thought of it. But I think Teddie and Nanako-chan's idea of keeping one another's memoirs will be a good comforter for that." As Aigis expressed her positivity, the group were seeing some sense in what she was saying. But before she spoke any further, she stood up from her seat and walked over to Nanako. She knelt down to her and held up a hand, opening her fingers to reveal what seemed to be a golden round; just one of the many she uses in her gatling gun. But the difference between this particular round and others is that this one was already used, and the slight deformity and loss of colour in the round was enough to baffle Nanako of what Aigis was actually presenting to her.

She then hovered her hand over Nanako's box and dropped the used round in, looking back to Nanako with a smile. "As long as we don't forget about each other, the bonds and friendships are still there." At a first glance, the used bullet didn't seem like much, but everyone knew that it symbolised Aigis well. The bullet was imperfect, but it was strong, nonetheless, just like Aigis. This not only eased the minds of the many in the group, but it also motivated them to do the same.

"In that case, shall we leave the boxes up on the mantlepiece?" Ken asked in approval to the idea, "We can use the time we have left together to put our things in." There was no reason why they couldn't. Everyone was on board with the idea, and when they nodded to Ken, Teddie and Nanako stood up with their boxes in hand, walking up to the mantlepiece where the fireplace was.

Shortly after, the chatters and conversations began to fill the room with noise. It was like the thought of going their separate ways didn't bother them anymore, let alone even stick in their heads. There were smiles scattered across the lounge, and there were a few chuckles and laughs here and there. Everything was as normal; or so it would seem. There were a few individuals, however, who hadn't spoken a word, nor given a grin or an expression of some form of happiness.

The first of these people was Marie. It was obvious by Rise and Yu that she still had feelings for the latter person, and every time she looked up to the two sitting next to each other, she would instantly look away in different directions, trying to avoid eye contact with either of them. All she could do was sit there and give the occassional forced grin to other people's conversations, hoping that the heartbreaking feeling inside her would subside.

Another person who sat near to her was Yukari, but instead of keeping her distance from the others, she tried to make an effort with the others, especially Mitsuru. However, when they all laughed, she could only muster a forced giggle, and if they smiled, she could only fake it. Not only were her glum looks caused by the haunting thought of being the next victim of the Midnight Channel, but the failure she had to face made it all the more distressful for her. She and the other members in her group had the boy right where they wanted him to be, only to let him slip through their fingers. Her chance for answers, her chance to finally know where her blue-haired hero was, completely taken away from her. For Yukari, to say 'so close, yet so far' wouldn't come anywhere close to the magnitude of the situation by a large margin.

But the one unexpected person who looked the most inattentive and absent from the land of the living was, in fact, Yu. There wasn't one expression on his face; all he had was his neutral look that stared down at the floor, using an arm and hand to support his head. He may not have been showing a lot of emotion, but inside, something was out of place. There was a small sadness that sent him into his thoughts, and thinking on it only exacerbated it. He looked towards the others who were all conversing and interacting with grins on their faces, especially Nanako. And then a thought came to his head. _"Why am I feeling this way? I should be over it by now..." _he asked himself in his head, _"... I've coped with taking a train away from the guys before, and we're going to have to go back to Inaba at some point anyway... but..."_

"Hey, Senpai?" called a voice from outside his imagination. But it was a faint call, and to Yu, it was just like a murmur outside of his bubble, and he made no reaction to it whatsoever; he was completely oblivious to it all. But then, he felt a sudden shake of his shoulder. "Senpai?" the voice called again, this time more clearly. And immediately, he was brought back from outer space, blinking his eyes twice and widening them to see himself back in reality.

He quickly turned his head to the voice that called onto him, noticing that it was Rise who was there to break him out of his trance. "...Huh?" Yu mumbled, almost confused by the sudden transition from the depths of his mind to the real world. Seeing the concerned look on Rise's face, he knew that he was making her worry for nothing, which only made him feel guilty for being so tied up in his own thoughts.

"You haven't said a word since you came down. Is everything okay? Are you ill?" Rise asked, placing a hand on Yu's forehead to check for any signs of a fever. Yu wanted to answer, but just as he was about to open his mouth, he thought about how many times he was asked that same question before. Not just by Rise, but by many others in the group as well. Every time he was asked that question, he would reply with the same untrue answer.

However, this time wasn't an exception. "No, no... I'm fine," he replied with a gruff tone. To lie about his feelings only made him feel more insecure about himself, but he didn't want Rise, or anyone for that matter, to feel concerned for him; he only felt that the only way from this feeling was up. "Are you sure?" Rise asked again, "Is it about Marie? 'Cause I saw you guys talking earlier and... well..."

"Well..." Yu muttered, unable to find the words. He didn't want to make his feeling clear; it was for the sake of Rise and everyone around him. But when she mentioned Marie, Rise's look changed from worried to hurt, and that was always an expression Yu never liked to see on her face. "...there's no need to worry." he finally said before moving on to tell her what Marie offered him earlier on. As he explained, Rise's expression grew more saddening, but before she could hit rock bottom, Yu placed a soft hand on the side of her neck, rubbing the side of her chin with his thumb.

"It'll be okay though," he reassured Rise, "we just need to talk with one another. We need to make our feelings clear with one another. Then, maybe, everything will go back to normal. I'm not saying it will be easy, but we have to try." Everything Yu had said was from the heart, but even so, it was only a smart part of his worry compared to the true feeling inside him; he wanted everything to work out between him, Rise and Marie, however. There was no doubt about that.

Listening to his words of wisdom, Rise took a hold of the hand that affectionately warmed the side of her neck and entwined her fingers with his. "Everything will be okay though?" she asked, looking up to Yu with eyes that looked for the trust in him. Yu sighed, forcing a smile, "Everything will be okay."

Rise wanted to express her gratitude to him in so many ways, one of which was a big hug. But knowing that Marie would watch it happening right in front of her, she knew fully well that she didn't want to be more of an enemy to her; she and Marie had a couple of rivalries in the past, but even so, she wanted nothing more than to be her friend again. Rise returned the forced smile to Yu. "You're amazing." she said to him, using her other hand to hold Yu's.

Yu was somewhat thankful for Rise's comment. But despite it, he didn't think so at all. It wasn't out of modesty at all, but to not make his own emotions known to the one he loves made her comment seem somewhat incorrect to him. He felt truly undeserving to be called that.

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><p><em>0808 – Late Night_

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><p>A small clanking sound of the minute hand struck, and the bells began to chime, bringing everyone's attention to the grandfather clock. The hour hand pointed upwards to the left of twelve whilst the minute hand pointed towards six. "Half past eleven already..." Naoto mumbled to herself before turning to Nanako, "... I think it's time for bed, Nanako-chan."<p>

"Awww, really?" she asked with a dejected look on her face, "Well, okay... but I get to stay up with you guys tomorrow night!" Suddenly, a smile grew on her face, like what she was proposing was going to happen whether the group liked it or not. Everyone couldn't help but grin at her cheekiness, but as soon as they saw her let out a great big yawn, their looks suggested that they told her so.

Teddie offered to take Nanako up to bed, and as she climbed onto his back in a piggyback, he scraped the soles of his shoes on the carpet, as if he was a bull waiting to charge. Teddie knew that he had to be as quick as he could if he wanted to get the full intel on the night's meeting, so when he finally got on the move to take Nanako to bed, he sprinted all the way; even up the stairs he was pushing himself needlessly to get to the second floor. However, Akihiko and Naoto only had half an hour to get their information through to the others, so Teddie's efforts were very much needed.

When Nanako was finally out of earshot and Teddie scurried back downstairs, the group meeting immediately commenced. Akihiko reached into his pocket and pulled out his notepad, unclipping the buckle that held all the pages together. Naoto cleared her throat and recalled everything she and Akihiko had found back at the hospital. "It's no doubt that we're all still bugged about today..." Akihiko said as he flicked through the pages, "... but at least it wasn't a total waste. And it was a good thing Fuuka called us just as we were about to leave the hospital. Any sooner, and we'd have less information than we have now... ah, here it is."

He placed a finger down around the area of interest and proceeded to read his own handwriting. He briefly read the ink first before confirming it to be liable evidence. "The first thing we noticed was the broken window in Minato's private ward," he began to explain, looking up from his notepad as he memorised the crucial points, "it was completely shattered, but one thing we noticed was that there were more glass shards inside than there were outside, which could only mean that it was broken from inside the hospital."

"But there were a few factors that interested us involving the window," Naoto spoke after Akihiko, "the window was, in fact, laminated, which meant that, even if you threw a human being into it, it wouldn't completely break; but knowing this, something very powerful must've had the force to shatter the strongest glass."

After hearing the first bit of information, everyone was already intrigued and somewhat baffled by what they had been told. However, this only suggested how Minato's body was stolen without anyone having the knowledge of how it disappeared; so really, this only provided as the introduction, as a means of giving clarity on how Minato had suddenly vanished from his bed.

"We already know that the only two culprits we know of are behind the theft of Minato's body, but we've also managed to prove that," Akihiko spoke again, referring back to his notepad as he scanned across the pages, "we asked some of the staff about anything that might have happened that night when his body disappeared, but because it was during the night-shift, not a lot of nurses were there to notice anything. However, one person we talked to said that the doors were locked shut between the time Minato's body was still there and when he disappeared. The keys weren't even taken off the hook."

"So, no one could have gotten through the door to take his body away, nor came through the window from the outside because of the direction of impact. And what's more, Minato was the only one in the ward; the staff always checked the room regularly before leaving the room, and they found no one in there that night. Now, this is where the boys come in." Naoto explained with a clear mind, recalling every clue she could remember and memorising every deduction she made before leaving the hospital, "We all know that, apart from their power to create false entities out of human desires, they have the ability to jump from one place to another. And because we know that one of the culprits knows Iwatodai well, it is more than likely that this boy had just simply moved himself into the private ward with more than enough knowledge of where Minato was."

"We also believe that he was the one who caused the incident with the window," Akihiko said with confidence, although the mystery of the kidnapping in the first place wasn't all that important at that time, "To break a laminated window, something with a powerful force must've done it. The boy couldn't have just done it by himself, but maybe with the help of his Persona." As soon as he mentioned it, Akihiko watched as everyone's expressions turned from perplexity to shocked. But as everyone knew, the power of Persona could've been a very noticeable thing had it been used in the environment of the real world. Yu knew this all too well.

"Wait. But didn't any of the doctors or nurses noticed that?" Yu asked, confused as the others were at how something like that could be pulled off without alerting any of the staff, "Smashing a window would've made quite a lot of noise, and even his Persona would've been very noticeable." No one could've said it better; they all gave looks that suggested that the two gave another thought at their theory, but they only looked at them with confident expressions.

"That's correct; anyone could've heard the window or the Persona, or maybe evenboth," Akihiko said which only made the baffled looks on the group grow even more, but he knew what he was talking about, "I wondered about that myself when I came back here after being winded by the guy, but when I dug into some of the documents I had back at Ayanagi, Naoto and I found something that may have been the answer to that."

The group had no way of telling what Akihiko had in mind, but Naoto had that same detective's look on her face that suggested that she had been told by him beforehand. But Akihiko had everything written down in his notepad, all that were clues, and all that he was very confident with. He continued, "There were reports of a power outage that happened around midnight on the 30th of July. I was asleep around that time, but Naoto told me that she experienced this on the train to Inaba with you guys." The Investigation Team didn't know what Akihiko was talking about at first, but after casting their minds back more than a week ago, the memory suddenly hit them like a train. Yu was the only one to not hesitate to remember; that was the time when he bashed his head before.

"Yes. That was the time when you first had your head injury, Yu. Remember?" Naoto asked him, almost rhetorically when she saw him rubbing his head around the area where it used to hurt. He could only give a wry smile at how obvious the memory was. "How could I not?" he replied jokingly.

"The power outage caused a blackout throughout the whole nation, shutting down all things electrical, including the monorail service that you were all boarding at that same time. And for all of that to happen at midnight, that could only mean one thing." Akihiko explained, allowing the minds of the many to piece the puzzle together for themselves; it didn't take that long however, for they knew that there was only one thing that could occur at midnight whilst shutting down anything electrical.

"The Dark Hour?!" Yukiko replied in shock, suddenly leaning forward in her seat along with many others who thought to disbelieve it, "Really? But why all of a sudden? If the Dark Hour happened that night, why didn't it happen for the next six midnights after that one?"

"That's what we haven't been able to solve yet, I'm afraid..." said a ruminating Naoto, who even at that moment tried to fit the jigsaw puzzles together; but due to the lack of pieces, that particular part gave her no choice but to leave it for another day, "... but if it was the Dark Hour, then that would make sense. Put it this way: on the 30th of July, at midnight, the Dark Hour occurred, and that would've been where the culprit made his move. He jumped from one place to the other; that other place being Minato's private ward. While he's attempting the theft of Minato's body, he smashes through the window with his own Persona and takes the body with him... And while all of this was happening, the staff, the doctors and nurses... they would've been transmogrified into coffins, unaware of everything that was happening. That would be the most likely scenario. What we definitely don't know is where the boy ran to afterwards."

They all listened to every word of Naoto's thesis, and as they made the connections for themselves, they could just see how much the possibility of that story would be. Everything Naoto and Akihiko have explained up until that moment almost felt like they hit the jackpot. But these were the clues of something they already knew; that was until Yu had a theory of his own.

"Maybe not 'definitely..." he said, lowering his head in thought and re-thinking it over and over for any potholes in his guess. Everyone looked to him though, with eyes of hope that looked for an answer inside him. After giving it some thought, Yu found the confidence in his ideas to speak them aloud. "... if you think about it, we actually have some idea of where he might have gone..."

"Really? Where?" Yukari asked, speaking for the first time that night. But nonetheless, she was just as intrigued as everyone else was in what he had to say. Yu gestured a hand that suggested that he was only thinking off the top of his head, but the look of effort on his face said otherwise. "From what we know, Marie and that culprit had befriended each other, and they have hung out since meeting each other. There was one place where he could've been operating from... two places, in fact, apart from the Tatsumi Hall TVs."

He then leaned forward in his seat, lifting his head up to everyone with the thought fixed firmly in his head."Behind the Port Island Station, and at the abandoned Iwatodai Dorm... they are the two likeliest hotspots the boy uses to travel from this world to the TV world." No one could argue against him; what Yu proposed was very true, considering those were the only two placed where the same culprit had been. They already knew that there was a TV at the Port Island Station and that there was a TV in S.E.E.S's previous dorm.

"Also, just to add on," Akihiko spoke immediately after Yu, "I understand that some stuff was taken from our armoury; more specifically Minato's belongings." After proposing his next bit information, he turned to Mitsuru. He continued. "As far I know, it's Minato's sword, Evoker, and music player. Is that right?" Mitsuru nodded in reply, recalling her thoughts to check if there were anything else apart from those three things.

Akihiko turned back to everyone with the theories written in the notepad. "Well, after Naoto and I created the previous theory we talked about, I then realised something else..." he said, resting his back on the sofa and holding his chin in thought, "when you all rescued me from my own Shadow and brought us all back to the Tatsumi Hall, I went into the armoury to get my gloves and Evoker. While I was there, I noticed that Minato's things were gone and I asked Mitsuru where they were. She told me that they went missing on the Monday that same week; five days before you guys came to get me."

He then turned back to Mitsuru with a look that suggested that his theory was right on the money. "So, I ask, what was the date on that Monday?" he asked, looking towards everyone, including Naoto, to see if they were thinking on it. But before anyone else could reach the answer, Mitsuru let out a gasp of realisation. "The 30th of July!" she replied in shock, suddenly getting at what Akihiko was trying to say, "So he used the Dark Hour to steal his equipment while we were all asleep. And his ability to jump from one place to another... no wonder the hall's security system didn't go off; he didn't break in, but just jumped in."

Everything was slowly becoming clear on how it all started; how everything that happened literally in the dark started with the same culprit. But this only made everyone wonder, as well as Akihiko and Naoto did. "Doesn't anyone find it odd that the return of the Midnight Channel, the Dark Hour and Tartarus all revolve around Minato?" Naoto asked, trying to doubt herself of what she was suggesting. But no matter how hard she tried to disprove it, there was nothing she could say that could argue against it.

"Yeah..." Junpei spoke up as he scratched the side of his neck, "... it's almost like... when they took his body, all of those things returned in the act of the theft. But what would that mean? None of this makes any sense! How can taking someone's body cause them to come back?" It was then that Junpei asked the question that left a silence in the room; no one could answer, nor conjure up a possible explanation for it. It was like he hit the most difficult question right on the nail, and it even made everyone irritated when they couldn't think of anything in reply. That was when they hit a huge snag in their investigation.

"There is one thing for sure though," Akihiko broke the silence, lifting his head from his troubled thoughts, "they're planning something big, and what they've already done now has contributed to that; stealing Minato's body, bringing back the Dark Hour, the Midnight Channel, Tartarus... there's no doubt about it that all those things were part of this 'grand plan' they have." They all may have hit a wall at this point, but all they could think was that the abundance of knowledge they gained that night was reassuring of the fact that they were at least one step closer to finding the truth, and hopefully finding Minato.

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><p><em>0809 – Dark Hour_

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><p>A second ring from the grandfather clock resonated throughout the lounge. But instead of the usual twelve-time chime to signify midnight, once was all they heard before the ticking sound suddenly stopped. This turned everyone's heads back round to the clock-face, fixing their eyes on the two hands that pointed towards twelve. Instantly, the nerves kicked into their systems with a mix of adrenaline and fear, and the thing that frightened them even more were the colours that slowly faded into view.<p>

The green returned to the walls and floors, and the blood-coloured stains that randomly dotted themselves around the corners of the room with an ominous sensation that intended to petrify; no one could say that they weren't scared to death of the familiar midnight scenery, but they couldn't say they weren't at all scared either. In fact, the fears began to grow when their eyes came onto Yukari.

She started to fidget, and for the first time that night, her expression changed to something real; up until that moment, Yukari's looks were fake smiles and forced grins. But this time, the look of intense horror on her face was completely genuine, and it even took a hug from Mitsuru to get her to calm down. But only slightly.

When Yu and Rise saw Yukari in this state, the first instinct they had was to comfort her, and together they transferred themselves from one sofa to another, getting closer to her in the hope that she would feel safe around her friends. "Don't worry, Yukari," Yu whispered to her with a gentle tone of reassurance, "we're right here for you. We won't let you go in there." Yukari looked behind her to see Yu's head nod to her with a firm decision to keep her in the real world.

Rise also nodded to her, placing a friendly hand on her shoulder and rubbing it for comfort. "Remember what we told you. Stay strong." she said, squeezing her shoulder blade to give her that extra bit of courage to her. For a while, Yukari couldn't change the feeling that was eating away inside her; it nearly drove her to coming into a petrified state. But as soon as Yu and Rise came to her side with words that hoped to give her great faith in them, her expression calmed into a look of solidarity, returning the nod to the couple with a growing confidence in her.

They all then darted their heads back to the TV, waiting in impatience for the Midnight Channel to make its broadcast. Mitsuru had her arms securely around Yukari, and Yu, Rise and everyone were there with her on standby, watching intently for anything that could pose a threat to anyone. Everything was in place, and they were all prepared as much to the brim as possible. But even so, there were still thoughts of doubt running through a few individuals' minds, including Yu's.

"_We can't let the culprits take Yukari... with everything that's caused her pain, any form of Shadow that spawns from her could be the end of us. We might not even have a chance. Man, we need a miracle." _he thought pessimistically, only to shake his head from the negativity he was giving himself, _"Agh, what are you saying, Yu?! She's your friend. You're meant to be there to help her! A broadcast or not, we won't slip up like we did all those other times; she'll be on this side of the TV no matter what."_

A long excruciating while of waiting filled the room with the most uncomfortable and ominous silence; the TV sat there like it was taking pleasure in the frightful looks that stared at it. But suddenly and at the most unexpected time, a loud screeching sound of high-frequency static boomed through the glass of the TV, startling everyone who heard it. This teeth-gritting sound was then followed by the disturbing familiarity of the buzzing black, white and green colours that bounced around the TV screen with a dangerous sense of inevitability. "This is it." Yukari spoke for the first time that night, closing her eyes to call on the last bit of hope she had in herself.

The static covered the screen with sharp frantic actions in its wavelengths, making it impossible to see through the fuzz and the waving monochrome colours. But then, the bursts and jitters of the static suddenly subsided, revealing to everyone of who's silhouette was being shown that night. As their eyes were glued to the screen, they searched through the frequency zig-zags to find the silhouette, but when they found something, everyone's eyes widened with surprise at what they were seeing. "What the...?" Yu muttered, leaning in his seat at the very sight of it.

What there was in front of them, was a blank screen. There was nothing there. Not a person, not a ghost; nothing.

"Haha," Yosuke chuckled out of the quiet, somewhat dumbfounded by the sudden turn in events, "there's nothing there? Oh thank god!" In reaction to this, everyone, including Yukari, let out a huge sigh of relief, hitting their backs against the cushions in unison. The tension in their bodies subsided in an instant, and the worries and fears that ran adrenaline through their veins disappeared with it. It was a feeling none of them had experienced up until then, and it was clear that they didn't want to feel anything else.

"Really? There's nothing there?" Yukari asked in disbelief, somewhat finding it unbelievable that she had cheated herself out of becoming a victim of the TV world. But the more she looked at the screen, the more proof there was to give her a reason to smile again. "Yukari-chan, of course there's nothing there," Fuuka said, rushing to her side to get a look of her surprised face, "it might have been that you were strong enough to cast your desires aside." Yukari thought that Fuuka could've said it another way, but at the same time, for the first time in a long time, she felt proud of herself; she couldn't even help but give a little smile at her efforts.

She looked behind herself to see Yu and Rise, who both gave thumbs up and winks to her to show how pleased they were with her. Just seeing the two do something as simple as that gave her that little incentive to build up that strength inside her. It wasn't much, but Yukari returned the mutual feeling with a smile; something that had always been a seldom-seen thing from her. But this was considered to be a big step forward for Yukari, and the blank TV screen was proof of that. She mouthed the words 'thank you' to the two, who nodded to her expression of gratitude. It was like things were starting to look up.

But just when the calmness of the night started to settle, the brief equilibrium suddenly shifted when the TV buzzed for a second time. Everyone's heads turned to the mess of wavelengths on the empty screen, trying to look for what was causing this sudden change in broadcast. Immediately after the boom of static though, a familiar outline of a hood and trench-coat stood out from behind the green and fuzzy imagery. _"Well, that was quite the surprise, wasn't it ?!" _a derogatory tone of voice spoke through the speakers that filtered through was sounded like a tannoy.

In an instant, everyone was up on their feet, rushing towards the TV screen to get a closer look of who was talking to them through the television. They only knew a couple of individuals who could talk to them through the TV glass, and seeing the attire this figure was wearing, it didn't take much a guess to know who it was. It was undoubtably the second of the two culprits; he stood with his hands behind his back and with his head held high, even though his attempts to bring Yukari in the TV had failed.

"Yep!" Chie yelled towards the screen, putting on a victorious smile with her hands firmly on her hips, "How does it feel, huh? Well, it looks like you got a taste of your own medicine!" Anyone would've wanted to say the same thing; the feeling of keeping their friend on this side of the TV screen after the Midnight Channel had broadcasted was something they've longed to feel. I was almost like seeing the boy on the TV didn't scare them that much anymore.

But when they heard that same evil chuckle of his, there was still plenty to be afraid about. _"Let's just say we had to... reconsider things," _the boy spoke, unshifted by the the many faces of relief and victory that stared at him, which only then slowly turned into looks of confusion and worry, _"we decided to hold off the broadcast until everything is right for us. A little more preparation couldn't hurt... we might even get to kill at least one of you if all goes well."_

"Whaddaya mean?" Kanji asked, shaking a fist at the boy with fire in his eyes, "Pretty tough talk for a sore loser. I bet you're just saying that just to scare us, aren't you?" Kanji seemed quite convinced that this was what the boy was doing, and judging from the lack of hostility than the trench-coat usually showed, that seemed to be the case in everyone else's view. But the boy just shook his head and shifted his feet with an authoritative attitude. _"Think what you want," _the boy ignorantly said, _"but the only way you're going to find out if I'm bluffing or not is to watch tomorrow night's broadcast. And I'll warn you now, there's more of a chance that I'd wipe the smiles off your faces than you would do with mine."_

His answer couldn't have been more believable, and just hearing that there was another night of the Midnight Channel's broadcasting was something they dreaded to hear or even conceive. It only took a short matter of time to turn everyone's resolved expressions back into their looks of lost hope; even Yukari had lost her smile to the familiar feeling of distress.

"_I think of this as just savouring the moment..." _the boy said with a cocky sense of confidence, _"... anyway, that's all I wanted to say tonight. So, enjoy your extra hour of sleep. Oh and try not to think too much on what I said... you don't want to keep yourselves awake now, would you? Nighty-night." _And with that, his shadowy figure buzzed out of sight from behind a split-second flash of TV static, vanishing without a trace.

The fears and problems had all returned to them in that short space of a few minutes, and nothing they could do was enough to cast them aside from their line of thinking. But despite it, they all knew that not all hope was lost; they have gathered new intel, new leads and new knowledge about what to do next, even though there was an obstacle still left to clear.

And as they thought on the positives, they looked back to Yukari, who was still with them and still trying to keep that smile on her face. They all knew that the boy had said those things just to put them in the wrong mindset, but at the same time, they couldn't ignore the fact that the boy was telling the truth about the next broadcast. But even so, they wanted to enjoy the break that they had been given out of the blue. Junpei was the first to gladly take this opportunity with open arms.

"Well, Yuka-tan, you managed to save us a whole lot of trouble!" Junpei joked to Yukari, laughing at his own humour before coming into a more serious tone, "Ahh, but seriously though, you did good. We're all right behind you!" At first, Yukari wanted to yell at the joker with a stern reminder of what was at stake here. But as soon as he explained himself, she couldn't have been more grateful to him and the rest of the group, especially to Yu and many others of the Investigation Team and S.E.E.S who had all been there for her when she needed them. They were there for her that night and all the days before; it was as if she didn't feel deserving of such good friends.

"Thank you so much, everyone," she thanked, scanning her eyes around the room to get a look of each and every one of the group, "I would dread to think what would happen to me if it weren't for you."

"We all understand that this isn't over yet," Mitsuru said, gently tugging Yukari's shoulder as a friendly gesture, "but like Junpei said, we're all right behind you, Yukari." It was an odd time to feel happiness in a time like this, but no one wanted to bother with what the boy said. Not at that moment anyway. Just watching Yukari bring a smile to her face was the only thing they wanted to focus on; nothing else seemed to matter.

"So, what now Yu-senpai?" Ken asked, giving him an obvious look that he and many others wanted to go to bed. Yu could only smile at Ken's question; he felt just as tired and exhausted as anyone else was, and he was more than grateful that many miles of sprinting didn't follow up with a battle with a potentially dangerous Shadow. However, he did have a few things in mind.

"Before I say the obvious," he began, chuckling with everyone at his joke at the start, "I think that we should check out the two major spots where the culprits had been using the TV from. If they stole Minato's body, they couldn't have gone very far on foot, and the TV's could've played a very important part in his disappearance. So tomorrow morning, we'll split up into groups again and look for some clues around Port Island Station and the Iwatodai Dorm. And hopefully we don't get caught up in another chase." No one could argue with Yu's plan for the next day; they needed all the knowledge they can get before the next broadcast, and even though Yu's version of 'tomorrow morning' translated to early in the morning, no one seemed to mind; that was only because everyone's thoughts only focused on one thing. And that was going to bed.

After receiving a collective agreement on the plan, everyone went upstairs to their respective floors, gladly making their way to their dorm rooms. The day had not all been that positive overall, but there were some aspects that made them glad of their efforts; the obvious ones being that Yukari is safe and sound, and that they had another extra hour of sleep to catch up on. The boy left them with words that he found to be an eye-opener for the night, and that may have been the case for some, but there was a mutual feeling of looking forward to tomorrow, which was the first time in a very long time. For that moment though, a mattress, a couple of pillows and a duvet were waiting for them.

**And that's the thirty-ninth chapter done! So Yukari didn't enter the TV tonight... but how long will that last I wonder! Looks like the answer will have to wait, but in the meantime, thank you so much for reading guys! Keep reading and reviewing, and visit the forums if you'd like – there's still a link on my profile if you'd like to join in with the banter! With all of that said, I hope you will join me in the next chapter; the FORTIETH chapter! But, until then... CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Junpei: It sure does feel like forever since we moved away from this place._

_Yukari: This is... was his room._

_Yu: I bet this place brings back a lot of memories, huh? Yukari? Yukari!_

_Yukari: Huh?! Wha-?_

_Yu: Are you sure you're okay with this?_


	40. Not Your Average Thieves

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Forty_

_Not Your Average Thieves_

**Well, another day, another milestone guys! Yes! Welcome to the FORTIETH chapter everyone... the big 4 and 0! I still can't believe it myself that we've made it this far into the story, nor can I even fathom how long this story has gone on for! I can reveal to you that the identities of the two culprits will be revealed soon in the next few chapters, so now would be the time to look back on the previous chapters and form your theories about who they might be! For now though, let's enjoy the fortieth chapter, but most of all... LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0809 – Afternoon – The Iwatodai Dorm_

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><p>Much to everyone's surprise, not one of them had the effort to get up at their usual early-bird time, not even Yu, Mitsuru, nor anyone of the disciplined kind. Rather, all they wanted to do was to get as much needed sleep as they could, and the extra hour they had during the night was something they couldn't waste. The fact that they had been constantly fighting Shadows, running a marathon's worth through the TV world and chasing down culprits in the rain were all the more reason to get more shut-eye. But when they eventually woke up to the afternoon showers tapping on their windows, they found getting out of bed to be a most difficult feat, especially when their muscles still didn't fully recover from the sprint from the day before.<p>

But soon enough, they were already outside, with the exception of Marie who was asked to look after Nanako at the Tatsumi Hall for the day. Revitalised and relieved of all exhausted they had the other day, they continued their investigation from where they left off, splitting themselves into two separate groups to cover their ground. The first group, consisting of Yu, Fuuka, Teddie, Naoto, Aigis, Yukari, Ken and Junpei, sent themselves out to the abandoned Iwatodai Dorm; the place which Yu and his group stumbled upon at the end of yesterday's pursuit. And the second group, consisting of the rest of the team, based themselves on the other side of the island at the Port Island Station.

As Yu and his team stepped into the old dorm, they still couldn't help but feel amazed at how worn down and battered it was around certain areas of the lounge. Even Fuuka, Ken, Junpei, Aigis and Yukari looked around the place in awe at the history and past events they had spent in this building. Memories flooded back to them in tidal waves; some that were good, some that were bad and some that were just difficult to cast out of their mind after remembering them. "Wow, this takes me back..." Junpei muttered, imagining the lounge he knew from all those years ago. Anyone else from S.E.E.S could've said the same thing, but Ken found Junpei's comment to be quite humorous. "Haha. Junpei-senpai, you sound like an old man." he said with a chuckle, albeit understanding what he was trying to say.

"Yeah, I do, don't I?" Junpei replied, laughing with Ken and taking the remark into his stride, "It wasn't even that long ago, but it sure does feel like forever since we moved away from this place." He had a look that made him pleased of the many memories he gained within that building when it was in its former glory; even the memories he would've preferred to forget were something he was oddly pleased to remember. The other group members affiliated with S.E.E.S could be said of the same thing, and the rest of them would've dug up some memories had they seen this place the way it was now.

Yu, Teddie and Naoto obviously couldn't feel the way the other members of their group felt, but they couldn't help but think that a lot had happened in this very dorm. Along with those memories, there was a strong chance that there had to be some clues lying around the vicinity, and if that was the kind of chance they were presenting themselves with, there was no reason to take it.

"All right then!" Teddie cried out as he quickly turned his body towards Yu, bringing a flat hand up to his forehand in a mock salute, "Teddie reporting for duty, Sensei! Where shall I be stationed?" It was humouring, yet quite flattering to Yu that Teddie was referring to him as some kind of captain or commander. Most of all, he liked his enthusiasm to get going with the investigation, and he thought that the extra hour of sleep was the very thing that gave Teddie that motivation to work harder. "Actually, Teddie, I was hoping you could search out this floor with that nose of yours," Yu replied, looking around the abandoned lounge to guesstimate the size of it, "This space is quite huge, so your sense of smell might pick things up that we could easily miss with just our eyes."

"Understood!" Teddie said, straightening his back and extending his chest out upon receiving his orders, "I shall search the bottom floor. And once I'm done with that, I'll take the liberty of checking the girls' floor of the dormitory!" And with that, Teddie rushed over to the far side of the lounge, into the dining section, leaving everyone with heads being lowered into their hands in facepalms. Judging from the astounding rate at which he was sniffing, they all knew that he was more than excited to see what the second floor of the old dorm was like.

"Er, you know what? I'll go help him!" Junpei said with that same energy Teddie had, walking over to the other end of the dining section of the lounge to begin his search. His enthusiasm was usually something most people would normally be disgusted at, especially when it had anything to do girls. But this time, they could only laugh at how he was casually joining Teddie in his cheeky quest for anything girl-related; laughter was something seldom seen or heard since the investigation began, and since the night before, they needed something, even if it was a small thing, to cheer them up.

"Has Teddie always been like that?" Yukari asked with a small grin on her face. It was quite a surprise that no one had asked that question before about Teddie; not even in Inaba. But at the same time, Yu could only give her a look that suggested how lightly she was saying it. "Well... let's just say that he's always had a thing for 'scoring'." he replied, making himself chuckle at the many memories he had of Teddie's humorous moments.

"Oh?" Yukari asked again, somewhat curious by that one word, 'scoring'; what made it more awkward was that she actually wanted to know what Yu was trying to say. Instead of giving a worded answer though, Yu and Naoto only gave her the same look again, shrugging their shoulders to indicate their message. "Oh..." Yukari hummed with widened eyes of realisation. After that, she only wished she hadn't brought it up. "A-Anyway..." Fuuka spoke out of the sudden silence that left the discomfort of the lingering thought in the minds that wanted to forget it, "... what was it that you wanted me to do, Yu-chan?"

"Ah, yeah, Fuuka," Yu muttered as he snapped himself out of thought, "I need you and Juno to scan all around the dorm for any dangers; preferably for the boys if they're here or anywhere outside the building. We wouldn't want to get caught up in another fiasco like yesterday." Fuuka nodded almost immediately to Yu's favour and was more than willing to help out with making the investigation as safe and smooth as possible; their muscles were too much out of commission as it was to even jog in a chase. "Sure thing," Fuuka approved, finding something else to say before getting to her duties, "but I can also scan into the TV world from here if you'd like. That way, there's a good chance I might find either of culprits from the outside and inside."

"Even better," Yu replied, "but only if it doesn't take too much of your energy to do it. We may have had a good sleep last night, but we'd need to be prepared with what energy we still have. So don't make yourself too tired if it requires a lot." Fuuka appreciated the concern and even smiled because of it. But as she walked over to the TV that stood between the partitioning, she proved how careful she can be. "There's nothing to worry about," she said to him with a grin, taking up her Evoker, "me and Juno have it covered." And without any hesitation, she brought the pistol barrel up to her forehead with both hands, pulling the trigger immediately when the metal touched her skin. In no time, Fuuka began her search, alternating her eyes between the inside world of the TV and the outside of the dorm.

"I'll search out the higher floors," Naoto suggested, gesturing a hand for Yu's attention, "if the boys were operating from here, they may have left some equipment behind. So keep a look out for anything of the sort or anything that seems like it shouldn't be here." Yu already knew that, but a recap couldn't hurt, and the seemingly more focused mind from the detective prince was something he liked to hear. There was a more determined air about her that all other times during the group's period of exhaustion. Without another word, Naoto headed upstairs, looking around the area as she went.

Next up to be assigned to a task was Aigis, who remained as the same determined person that she was for the whole investigation so far. She may be human in the mind and heart, but that didn't necessarily mean that her robotic functions stopped her from keeping the mind from exhaustion, even after having faced her Shadow a couple of nights ago. "What shall I do, Yu-san?" she asked with a firm will, raring to get going with the continuation of the investigation.

"Aigis. I understand from Mitsuru that there used to be a Computer Room similar to the one back at the Tatsumi Hall on the fourth floor, correct?" Yu asked. He knew that Aigis would have some knowledge with computers of that size and scale, and after seeing her nod, he could see the confidence in her expression, which made him convince himself more that Aigis was right for this job. "Yes, that's right," she answered, "I think it's still there, but we had some of the wires cut so that the demolition workers can discard it when they're knocking down the building."

"Hmm..." Yu hummed to himself, already stumped in finding a solution to the problem that suddenly arose; but there was one thing he could only think of to solve it, "... this may be too much to ask, but... do you know if you can fix it?" He didn't want to feel like he was putting a lot of weight of Aigis' shoulders so that she would have to burden the responsibility of putting the computer back into a workable order. But fortunately, a confident nod from Aigis was the thing he needed to reassure him of that. "I happen to be quite experienced in computers," she replied with a smile, seeing a somewhat relieved face from Yu, "I take it that you want me to find some past data while I'm there?"

"My thoughts exactly," Yu expressed in awe of her ability to come to the same plan as him, "I hope I haven't given you too much to do..."

"Of course not. I am part machine, so working with computers doesn't prove too difficult for me. But thank you for your concern, Yu-san." she reassured him with politeness. And with that, Aigis also headed towards the stairs with her objectives clear as day in her mind.

Next to receive his orders was Ken, who seemed more awake than everyone else. Looking up to Yu with his neck bent back, he was as determined as anyone else was to get his job done. "What can I do, Senpai?" he asked, listening intently for his instructions. Yu place a gentle hand on his shoulder and slightly bent his back to come closer to him. "Ken, I want to go with Aigis and sort some things out with past records," he informed Ken, "I'm not asking for much, but if you can find any data that the culprits had been using or if you can find any browsing history, that might help us figure out what they had been doing. Any information they took from that computer might've influenced their plans."

"Sure thing!" Ken replied. And in an instant, he ran off to catch up with Aigis, climbing the stairs in a sprint. As Yu watched him attending to his duties, he felt like everything was becoming organised; everyone was cooperating and everyone was willing to uncover and discover. It's like they were recreating a real crime scene investigation.

All that was left was Yukari, who seemed more cheerful that day due to the drastic amount of motivation she gained from last night's news. "What should I do then?" she asked Yu, hoping that she could be more of a use than all other times during the investigation. Yu didn't hesitate to answer though. "You don't have to if you don't want to, Yukari..." Yu said with some apology of bringing her here, "... but I was going to go up to Minato's room and I was hoping that you would come along since you might know the place well. So..."

Yukari could see that Yu was trying to be very sympathetic about asking her, and because of it, he struggled to find the right words to say, being careful to not say anything that might've upset her. But he was immediately stopped by the smile that suddenly sprung onto her face along with a hand that gestured for him to stop his worry. "It's okay, Yu," Yukari said with a odd confidence about herself, "I'll come along. We'd need to get somewhere in this investigation after all."

And at that moment, Yu was quite surprised to hear that answer from Yukari. In fact, he was very astounded by how much her disposition had changed in one night. He was happy to see her in this way, but then again, he was quite confused by how quickly she adapted to the verdict of the Midnight Channel from the other night; he didn't know whether to feel one way or the other, and he couldn't help that the conflict in his mind was shouting something to him. Something odd or unusual. It's like he wanted to believe that her sudden mood was true, but couldn't.

"Err... are you sure?" Yu asked, still dumbfounded by it all. But Yukari only looked at him with an expression that wondered why he asked such a question whilst keeping the grin on her face. "Well... of course I'm sure. What makes you think I wouldn't be?" That same smile just didn't go away, and even though it seemed like a good sign, Yu had it somewhere in his head that something was off. There wasn't any sign of that sadness from the day before, and even when he mentioned Minato's room, her response was quite unexpected. Yu didn't want to think on it and instead just smiled back, taking the situation as the truth before letting Yukari lead the way to the room. They headed up the stairs to the first floor, stepping into the hallway where the boys' rooms used to be; it was clear that S.E.E.S wanted to keep the same system back in the Tatsumi Hall.

The ascent to the first floor went by in a fast walking pace, but when they took their first steps into the hallway, Yukari's pace started to slow down, almost to the point when Yu thought that she was only stalling for what she would have to face after two years of being away from his dorm. Then, just as they were approaching the last door at the end of the hall, next to the window, Yu could just see her head bending forward, followed by the sound of a slight sigh that seemed to coincide with one another. At that moment, the thought that Yu had before was suddenly introduced back into his line of thinking, wondering if what Yukari said before was genuine.

However, as soon as they reached Minato's door, she turned around, and suddenly, her head lifted with the smile still on her face, only this time less lightly. Again, Yu didn't know what to think when he saw that expression for the second time having already seen some signs of disappointment just a moment ago. "This is... was his room," Yukari said, taking a moment to correct herself in the process, "it should be open since this place was going to be knocked down by the demolition people anyway." When she did correct herself though, there was a brief moment when her smile faded away before it was brought back again.

Yu didn't want to pry, however, so to avoid any misunderstanding, he just went with it. "... I see..." he said, trying to hide the suspicious feeling behind his neutral look, "... are you ready to go in?"

"Yeah... sure," Yukari replied, putting a somewhat reluctant hand on the doorknob. But as soon as she did, she hesitated to turn it, leaving a long moment before she twisted the doorknob clockwise with a slow and steady motion. Before she opened the door though, she turned back to Yu. "Before we go in though... can I ask you something?" she then asked, giving Yu a look of curiosity; a curiosity that managed to fade the smile out of sight. "Yeah, go ahead." Yu answered sensitively with all ears at the ready.

"Well... why Minato's room?" Yukari asked again briefly, "Does it have anything to do with the culprits?" When Yukari posed the question, Yu felt like he was then treading on eggshells, flinging around words and sentences in his mind in an attempt to find the right things to say. There was no easy answer. Not with what Yu's own thoughts were at that time. He had one idea, but he had another; one that follows everyone's view of the culprits so far, as two unknown criminals who knew Minato and S.E.E.S well. And the other being Yu's other interpretations; ones that only he knows and no one else, not even the Investigation Team nor S.E.E.S. He knew one thing though, and it was that one of those things would definitely upset Yukari. That would be the last thing Yu would've wanted, let alone ever wanted.

However, he was more than confident that Minato's room was one crucial place that needed investigating. "It was just a thought," Yu began explaining without any hesitation, "but I would imagine that, if the culprits had been stealing Minato's possessions, maybe his room was also taken. And I think it might be one of the two hotspots where they have been operating from. If that would be the case, then it would've not just been a good hiding spot, but it might also – "

" – be the place where they kept the possessions!" Yukari interrupted to finish the sentence, coming to the same realisation Yu did. Yu pointed a finger towards her, indicating to her how to had hit the nail on the head. "Exactly," he praised Yukari's intelligence, "and it might be the place where other of Minato's things might be hiding other than the things we know of now. Maybe things that are personal to him." Yukari was satisfied with what Yu had explained to her and proceeded to open the door. In the process of doing so, however, Yu could see some reluctancy when she opened the door; she paused herself before entering the room, and the twisting motion in her hand was slow and showing some restrain. Even stepping into the room didn't seem like an easy feat in Yu's eyes.

But nonetheless, they entered the room without any difficulties and began to scan their eyes around the area for anything out of the ordinary. The walls, floors and ceilings were all bleached to a yellowy-grey colour, and the corners were taken by thick cobwebs and damp spots which just showed how abandoned this place had become. Everything in this room turned into something horrid and unnerving, but for Yukari, it was a place of many memories. There were pieces of furniture that were still in the same places even after two years of being away from this dorm; the bed was still at the far side of the room, opposite the door, and the desk where he used to solve many difficult maths equations was still next to the window. To Yukari, it was as if she hadn't been away from this place at all. In fact, she could just see Minato sitting on that bed with his hands in his pockets even when sitting down, just talking the day away with one another and having that small cuddle with each other from time to time. She might as well would've been hallucinating.

"I bet this place brings back a lot of memories, huh?" Yu said to the distant Yukari, gazing his eyes around the room as if he was taking in what used to be the daily life of Minato Arisato; it might've been all spoiled at that moment, but he could just see what the room would've look liked in its prime. For an abandoned room, the area was surprisingly clean, and the spider webs were the only things that made the room look untidy. After Yu had sunk in the history, he turned his attention back to Yukari, who hadn't answered his question.

As he turned his head round to her, he noticed how she was just staring at the dusty bed with a look that contradicted the smiles from earlier on. Her eyes seemed to have been fixating on something, as if someone was sitting right in front of her; her gaze looked as if she wasn't looking at the bed at all, but rather at the wall. "Yukari?" Yu called to her again, but there was still no response. Furthermore, she didn't even budge at his voice and continued to stare at the bed and wall. So he tried again. "Yukari!"

"Huh?! Wha –?" Yukari muttered aloud in response Yu's voice, blinking her eyes frantically to bring herself out of her trance. She turned her head towards Yu with a look of surprise, but Yu could only look at her with a sympathetic expression. "Are you sure you're okay with this?" he asked her again. But when he saw Yukari forcing a smile, he knew that it would be the same answer. "Of course I am." she replied with a questionable tone of cheerfulness, "There's no need to worry about me." With that, she immediately turned her head away from Yu and began her search around the room, hiding her face for the rest of the time.

Yu was right to think that something was unusual about Yukari, and all he could do was sigh at how hard she was trying to stay happy when her feelings weren't true. He looked over to the bed where she was glaring, and it didn't take much guesswork to know that she was still thinking about Minato; judging from the many times it took to snap her out of her thoughts, he could only think that her thoughts of him were possibly more potent than ever, and the Midnight Channel's contribution as an incentive to repress those thoughts certainly didn't help either.

Yu felt the need to speak with her, but her resistance was too much to go against, especially with how fragile she seemed at the moment. All he had to do left was to continue on with the investigation and find some clues or anything with connections to the culprits. If they weren't ready to let down their hoods, proof was the only way to go. Any clue would do, even if it was anything to do with Minato; but oddly enough, Yu still had those two ideas in his mind. And any of Minato's equipment, he thought, could put him in a reluctant position where he would be convinced of one of those ideas. Along with Yukari's wellbeing, that would be the last thing he would want.

The thoughts were running through his head as he searched through the cupboards. But suddenly, a sound of light static came through a speaker from the side of Yu's trousers. _"Yu? Yosuke here." _said the crackly voice of Yosuke from the walkie talkie. As Yu approached the desk next to the window, he took the radio from his pocket and held it up to his lips. The walkie talkie's dodgy sound quality was enough to get the words through, but he could just hear a hint of discontent coming from the speakers, and Yu could only think that he wasn't quite happy with where he was on the other end of the transmission.

"Yosuke."_ Yu said briefly, holding the radio in one hand whilst running his other hand through the face and drawers of the desk. Almost immediately after Yu had answered the call, Yosuke spoke again._ _"Can I ask you something?" _he asked with discontentment, just the same as before.

"Yeah, what is it?" Yu replied, turning his attention to the question after not having found anything. As he waited for Yosuke to call back, he walked towards the ensuite, and after walking through the doorframe, he could see the masses of dust collecting on the marble windowsills; there was a lack of light upon walking in, almost like Yu had stumbled upon something haunted. _"Well, it's nothing... it's just that..." _Yosuke's voice echoed throughout the bathroom, revealing a slight bit of disdain in his tone, _"... why did you have to make me come back to this place?!"_

* * *

><p><em>0809 – Afternoon – Port Island Station_

* * *

><p>"<em>Sorry Yosuke," <em>Yu replied, not so much sounding apologetic to him but rather like he was still right to place Yosuke in that part of the woods, _"it's just that you were at the Port Island Station yesterday and I thought you would be comfortable with it since you knew the place well." _Yosuke knew that he had a point, but the annoyed feeling remained. He knew as well as everyone else in the group did that the Port Island Station was one of the most dangerous spots in the whole of Iwatodai, and the fact that he, along with the others in his group, were standing right outside the punks hideout didn't make things any easier for him nor the group. "Yeah, like anyone in the right mind would get comfortable in a place like this," Yosuke complained, "why do you always put me in situations like this?"

"_Look, I know I gave you an icky job, but you're there already and we need to get this investigation under our belts," _Yu explained through the speaker, trying all his efforts to persuade Yosuke into staying, _"besides, if anything happens, you've got Akihiko and Kanji by your side." _It was true that Yosuke had two of the toughest members in his group, but just the state of the place and the horrendous rain conditions were still something to complain about. Without any thought given to the positive side of things, Yosuke immediately called Yu back. "All right then..." he moaned with a sigh, "... but the next time we do something like this, could you at least put me somewhere where it's dryer?"

"Senpai, quit complaining!" Rise shouted over to him, gesturing a hand to call him over to the alleys. It was quite a surprise and an embarrassment for Yosuke to hear that from Rise; it was like they both made a role reversal where she was more confident with going into the back of Port Island Station instead of him. Before reluctantly making his way back to the other group members, he waited for Yu's reply. But after a short while of waiting, no answer was heard; Yosuke could only tell that Yu deliberately ignored his call as a way of forcing him into the dingy alleyways.

"Ugh! Fine!" Yosuke moaned as he turned his body to the roughly beaten concrete path ahead of him, slowly making his way to his group. While walking into dangerous territory, Yosuke found many signs that just screamed to him with exaggerated concepts that made him think that something bad could happen to him. Potholes dotted around the concrete, oil spills created unsettling varieties of colour in the puddles, and the masses of graffiti, spelling curses and words of threat, covered nearly every inch of the brick walls that seemed to close in on him. The noise of the rowdy adults and laughing adolescents filled his ears, creating disturbing images of drunks and heavy smokers in his mind; even the smell of cigarettes was the thing that confirmed that thought as reality. Everything felt like he was going to be ambushed at any given moment.

But when he found the rest of the group just near the entrance of the place where Yu thought to be one of the culprits' hotspots, his fears were only slightly put to rest; he couldn't help but have to look around himself cautiously every second to make himself feel safe. Ironically, it only made him more worried about staying. "Wanna keep us waiting?" Kanji asked Yosuke with a derogatory tone. Aside from Rise, Yosuke was even more downed just by seeing how Kanji looked more courageous than he did; something in the way Kanji said his say did make him sound irked though. "I don't wanna hear it, Kanji!" Yosuke yelled in a whisper to him, flailing his arms out of annoyance.

"Oh, c'mon!" Kanji shouted in reply, "you're not the only one who's feeling a bit scared of this place you know!" Yosuke didn't know how to take that response; Kanji either said it to comfort him or to say it genuinely, but the confidence in his posture and the sound of truth in his voice only made him unsure. "I-I'm not scared!" Yosuke cried out defensively.

"Guys, will you keep it down?!" Akihiko whispered in authority to the quarrelling teenagers, "We'd need this to go as smoothly as we can." And in that instant, Kanji and Yosuke just looked at the trainee police officer with looks of apology, and both their arguments were put to an end, almost to the point when they didn't feel like speaking again.

There was no time for arguments, and it wasn't even the place or the time to be starting one; giving themselves away to the gangs and the punks before conjuring a plan would've been the last thing they wanted. But apart from the loud chuckles and the sounds of clanging beer bottles coming from the heart of the rotten place, everything else was quiet, and without worrying about getting noticed, the group moved on to making their strategy of how to reason with these people.

"Right. Before we begin," Mitsuru muttered to the group as she turned to Rise, "can you sense any of the culprits around here, Rise? It would be best if we avoided them for the rest of our time here." Rise took a quiet moment to herself to tap into Kanzeon's power, closing her eyes to see throughout the range she could reach. It was quite a perk for her to scan around a heavily built city even without her Persona, although it meant that she couldn't use the full capacity of the power. But even so, after a short while of weaving her sight in and out of the buildings around her, there were no signs of the culprits anywhere. "Nope. Nothing. All clear." Rise replied with the good news, which then proceeded everyone to coming up with the strategy.

Before they could, a couple of grotty adolescents emerged from behind the walls of the entrance, passing by with drunk, manic-sounding laughs with bottles in one hand. Something about their stumbling movements was quite humorous, but at the same time, could pose a threat if they didn't tread carefully. Taking this situation with great care, the group backed away slightly and huddled with one another with backs turned, as if they were making conversation with one another. The drunks were standing there for a long while, laughing away like nothing in the world could bother them. Slowly but surely though, the men moved over to the other side of the entrance, completely oblivious to the group of youngsters that were standing right in front of them.

The group didn't see anyone else coming, so while they were still in a huddle, the strategy was the only thing left to do before they could enter wilderness. "All right. Mitsuru and I will lead the way for you guys," Akihiko whispered to the rest of the group, "there's at least one of these guys around here who always come to this place, so if anyone will know anything about the culprit and Marie, he'll know."

"None of these people look welcoming..." Yukiko said with nerves building up in her stomach, "... what happens if they turn violent?" Everyone could see from the many people at the back that anything could make them want to pick a fight, even if it was with teenagers; just a tiny step out of place could set them off. Akihiko, however, didn't seem phased by this whatsoever. "Don't worry. If worst comes to worst, then they have a cop to deal with." he answered with confidence, which surprised many in the group. But when they thought on it, they remembered how much of a threat the TV world was to them, and when compared to something like this, they knew that it was all in their heads. The difference, however, was that they couldn't just draw out their weapons against them; the people they were dealing with weren't Shadows. They were human beings.

"Sorry to butt in, but how does telling them that you're a policeman going to help us if we get into a fight?" Chie asked with an uncertainty for how Akihiko's plan is going to play out. The trainee police officer, with confidence in his strategy, gave Chie a look that suggested that he had everything under control. He gave a cocky-sounding chuckle as he fixed the police badge in his jacket pocket and turned round to face the small group of people that were gathered at the other end of the Port Island Station's backside. "You'd be surprised how scared these guys get when anyone from the police department gets close to them," Akihiko replied, preparing to make his move towards the open area that lied before him, "besides, I've dealt with these guys before... Shinji even sorted these guys out from time to time when he was hanging out around here, and they know me very well as his friend. Kurosawa also tells me that the officers throughout Iwatodai have had trouble arresting these guys, so if I can get at least one of them, they might give us some information on the culprits. It's like killing two birds with one stone!"

"Wow, you've really thought about this, Akihiko-san." Rise commented, impressed by how Akihiko's detective mind worked. To the members of the Investigation Team, it was like they were witnessing an older male equivalent to Naoto, but that's not the only thing that surprised them. Akihiko only had a week or two of training at Ayanagi City and he was already beginning to look like a proper detective. His plan of attack didn't seem like a complicated one, but the look on his face suggested that he had a sneaky ace up his sleeve. Though it only seemed like he was the only one who knew how to handle the situation; everyone else just didn't know what to expect once they would enter the backside of the station.

"All right Akihiko, you lead the way," Mitsuru said, standing with the others behind him before turning her head to the rest of the group, "everyone else, stick by each other. And take no notice of everyone else around you." Even after being advised, everyone knew that it was easier said than done, and as Akihiko began to walk into the pits of the alleyways, the drunks, smokers and brawlers all looked in their direction.

After a few steps, they were all walking into dangerous territory. The inhabitants of the alleys all look at them with frightful looks that made them seemed irked to see teenagers trespassing into their bit of land; the group tried not to make eye contact with either of them, nor did they want to seem scared of any of these people. But something about them couldn't take their eyes off them, and the silence that was slowly creeping in made the atmosphere unbearable to handle. The voices and loud conversations that belted through the narrow pathways with eerie echoes faded from earshot, and with it went the feeling of security. Any confidence they had suddenly diminished, and they could only hope that Akihiko was right to keep his.

The seconds they spent just tiptoeing into unfamiliar territory felt longer than they should have, and the more they stayed, the more uncomfortable and ominous the situation was becoming. Anyone, except for Akihiko, could've cracked at any moment if they hadn't kept their cool. But before anyone could consider calling for help, Akihiko stopped in his tracks and everyone else halted behind him. They edged their heads round to what stopped him, and they immediately saw what looked like the ring-leader of the whole gang that operated here, sitting down with an arm around a woman.

The man Akihiko bravely stood in front of was very mobster-like in appearance. His dark brown medium-sized hair was slicked to the back of his head and behind his ears, and he wore a thick silver necklace that hung loosely around his neck. His face spoke nothing more than aggression with his eyes darting towards Akihiko, alternating between him and the rest of the group consecutively. He wore a slim-fitting buttoned shirt of a dirty pink colour, and his jeans opened up towards his feet, like it was in the style of a cowboy's denim wear. Conveniently though, the thick-soled leather boots he wore were just like something a sheriff would wear. He had a cigarette between two fingers that slowly burned away into ashes, and with an inhale of tobacco, he looked up at Akihiko again, but this time with a fury in his eyes.

"What the – ? Stop standing in front of me, douchebag! Go stand somewhere else!" the punk yelled up to Akihiko, breathing out thick, odorous smoke as he spoke. His shout was terrifying to hear, especially when the group were just right in front of him. But Akihiko stood his ground, unshaken and showing no reaction to the thug's command whatsoever; if anything, he just took another step closer to him, as if he purposely wanted to antagonise the punk. "I said move it!" he yelled again, sounding more furious than before. But again, Akihiko didn't take any notice of the punk's authority and continued to stand in the spot he was in, pulling a grin without any second thought to doing it. Everyone just couldn't believe what Akihiko was doing; it was like he was on a suicide mission even though he was the more confident one of the group. But it was clear to them that this was the person Akihiko was talking about. The one who could potentially be withholding information on the culprits.

After an impatient while of refusing to heed the warning, Akihiko watched as the thug quickly stood up from his seat with both fists clenched and with biceps tensed, staring at him up and down with a look that suggested he was looking for a fight. "Not a talker, huh?" the punk questioned him with a derogatory tone, "Well, you won't be able to once I rip your tongue out!"

Suddenly, the thug raised one of his fists and propelled it towards Akihiko's face; the speed of the punch was enough to create a loud whooshing sound, but nonetheless, everyone was greatly startled to see this reaction so soon in the conversation. But just as his knuckles were about to make contact with his skin, Akihiko raised his own hand and grabbed the hurtling juggernaut in one quick swipe, making no flinch whatsoever. This not only shocked everyone in the group, but the punk as well, and as he struggled to break his fist free of the boxer's grasp, he took another shot with his other fist. But again, Akihiko just effortlessly blocked it, and grabbed the fist firmly in his hand. It was clear who was the victor here; Akihiko's strength was herculean compared to the punk's, and the two contrasting expressions on their faces said it all.

"Why do things have to be ten times difficult with people like you?" Akihiko asked with a wry grin, "Well... in your case, it's ten times easier." And as Akihiko made his insult, he then slowly gathered the strength in his fingers and began to squeeze the thug's fists, crushing his knuckles more and more until he was nearly on the ground, writhing in pain. The punk's expression showed struggle, not just out of feeling the agonising pain in his wrists, but also out of trying to hide the painful feelings inside him. He squirmed around and tried to tug his hands out of Akihiko's grasp, but the more he did, the more of the crushing in his knuckles he was feeling.

Everyone didn't know what to make of Akihiko's approach to this investigation, but even though they thought it was somewhat the wrong way to do it, it was working. The thug shook his head vigorously and stomped a foot on the ground. "Shit! All right, all right! Stop!" the punk cried out, begging for Akihiko's mercy, "I don't know what you want from me, but I'll cooperate!" And as soon as he said this, Akihiko released the tension in his hands and threw the thug away, placing his hands back to his sides; there was enough pain in the thug's knuckles to refrain him from making another assault, so Akihiko took his defeat as a trustworthy sign.

"You know, if you didn't act like such a hard guy just then, this would've gone a lot more smoother," Akihiko explained as he adjusted his leather gloves, "but since you're willing to listen now, we'll just act like it never happened. Will that be all right with you?" His question seemed like a polite request, but the tone in Akihiko's voice suggested that it was more or less asked out of threat. It wasn't a very agreeable way to go about getting information from a person such as this one, especially by the group, but there wasn't really any other options to go by.

"Yeah, whatever..." the punk said with a sigh, trying to avoid eye contact from the woman who sat beside him sniggering. The rest of the group could see that the thug had finally calmed down, so without hesitation, they emerged from behind Akihiko, standing in a semi-circle formation in front of the pink-shirted man. The punk only seemed sickened to think that a few people who were younger than him were standing over him, and could only stare at the ground in frustration with the amount of embarrassment he was feeling.

"Now. We were hoping that you could answer some questions for us," Akihiko said, immediately getting a look of shock and hostility from the thug, "and before you try anything on me again, I promise you that the questions we ask won't get you into any trouble, so don't worry about us calling the cops or anything." The punk was clearly very stressed about the Iwatodai's police department, and Akihiko knew fully well why he had every right to be; he and Kurosawa had been tracking their records ever since they've known about them. The problem with this guy was that if any police got close to him, he and many other people in his posse would immediately run for another hidden spot in the city. Akihiko had the upper hand though.

"Fine... what do you wanna know?" the punk reluctantly offered his help, sitting up straighter out of discomfort for what people would be thinking of him at that moment. Now that the thug had complied with the group, the investigation could finally get underway again. Before Akihiko could open his mouth, Mitsuru stepped forward with her usual folded arms showing off her authority. "First off, is this where you usually spend your time?" she asked in seriousness.

"Pretty much all the time. If I'm not here, I'm away on business... business that doesn't concern you. This is where I hang out with my guys." he answered with a gruff tone, looking back to Mitsuru in anticipation for another question. The smell of his breath as he spoke had a cringing combination of smoke and alcohol, and there was a slight wheezing in his throat. "So you would know the majority of the people who come here, correct?" Mitsuru asked again.

"I'd recognise any face here. And everyone wears the same clothes most of the time; you might've noticed the smell of some of the tramps here..." he replied briefly, rudely looking towards the roughed up individuals who were sitting in the far corner of the alleys with eyes that unsettled them. Even though the mobster was sounding very ignorant in his answers, it was becoming a good sign for the group, and maybe some information on the culprits would emerge soon.

"Why?" the punk asked, curious as to why a group of strangers wanted to ask these questions, "Is there someone you're meant to meet here? Does he owe you anything?" The last question was somewhat out of the blue, but at the same time was uncannily true of what the group were wanting from the culprits. After gathering some courage from watching Akihiko and Mitsuru, Yukiko stepped forward to ask the questions.

"Well... the person we're looking for does owe us something... but we were hoping that you could give us some information on him..." she explained, somewhat nervous about standing in front of an alley inhabitant, "... were there any guys here who had their hoods up? And were they hanging out with a girl called Marie?" As she asked this, the thug looked down at the ground with eyes closed, sending himself into deep thinking. They could hear him humming as he thought, and as he took took a deep inhale of his cigarette, he sighed in the hope that something would spring to mind, as well as breathing out a thick smoke to go with it. "Hmm," the mobster hummed as he lifted his head up to Yukiko, "Marie rings a bell... that bitch. But I think I know who you're talking about... you can't see his face? Causes so much shit for the rest of us?"

It was only two pieces of information, and the remark on Marie was understandable, yet uncalled for, but the group already reacted to it as if they had just hit a goldmine. "Yeah, that's the guy we're looking for!" Yosuke shouted ecstatically, jumping to the front of everyone and pointing towards the thug like he was praising him, "But which one is it? The one with the black hooded jacket or the one that wears a brown detective's coat?"

Suddenly, the look on the punk's face changed from his solemn, cool look to a surprised one, almost to the point when he was starting to get furious again. He sat up straight and used a third finger to tap the cigarette so that the ash could split from it. "Wait... are you saying there's two of them?! Man I hope the second one doesn't come here. The first one was such an asshole! Two of them would be double the trouble!" he spouted in outburst before calming himself down again, spitting on the ground afterwards as a sign of his disgust, "But to answer your question, I remember him having a black jacket. I don't know how a hood like that can cover your whole face though..."

The group were in luck with their questioning so far, and after finding out that at least one of the thugs in the alleys had a clear picture of what the one culprit looked like, they put themselves into a great position. They could understand perfectly well why he said that both culprits would be double the problems for him; either of the culprits on their own are bad enough. But nonetheless, they were safe in the knowledge that they can proceed on with the questioning without any difficulties from here on in, and Rise stepped in line with the group to continue it.

"This might be an odd question to ask..." she briefly said before moving onto her question, slightly intimidated by the sight of the thug when she was up close to him, "... but when the guy was here, did you notice anything strange about him? Like, in the way he was acting around here or something along those lines...?" To the punk, it was an odd question and he even gave a raised eyebrow when Rise asked it, but even so, there was look on his face that suggested that he did know something. At first, the thought was only a small spark, but the more he thought about it, the more he began to think deeper about what he remembered about the culprit. It was a long while before the thug looked back up to the group again, but eventually, he did, and the information he was about to present to them looked promising.

"Now that you mention it... I did notice something... but it'll probably sound like bullshit to you..." the mobster explained as he took one final inhale of smoke before throwing the filter of the finished cigarette into a nearby puddle, extinguishing the burning tobacco, "... I don't know why, and I might be tripping balls here... but..." There was another pause in his sentence which pulled the group in closer to him, hoping that the answer would come out soon. The thug placed a hand on his forehead like he was having a migraine from the amount of thought processing that was going through his mind. But eventually, he continued. "... but... he did always like to keep eyeballing that TV over there... I kept thinking he was batshit insane every time he was staring at it; he's even worse late at night... I mean, I'm pretty sure I'm not the only one who knows that it's completely gone to shit!"

The mobster turned his body and pointed towards another corner of the alley, turning everyone's heads towards the thing that he was trying to give their attention to. In that corner was an old medium-sized television that was battered at the build, and there were some huge cracks in the glass screen. The TV had an old school satellite antenna that was badly bent in zig-zags on the top of it, and it was clear that it wasn't able to receive any power from any source; the power plug was completely ripped out from the back. From everyone's view, the TV looked as if it couldn't have been in working order due to the state it was in. But that didn't matter, because the group knew exactly what a TV in any state, be it in perfect condition or completely trashed, would be able to do at midnight.

It was good news for the group; Yu was right to have his suspicions on where the boys were operating from, and knowing that one of them was present at the backside of the Port Island Station made everyone all the more hopeful that more information could spill. So far though, all they were given by the punk was information they already knew or already anticipated. So, confident in what the thug had to offer them, the group continued to ask questions. "Yeah, we thought he'd be like that..." Kanji spoke up before moving on to a question of his own, putting a confused look on the mobster's face, "... but putting that to one side, how did you come to meet this guy? Did he just waltz in here or was there a reason?"

The punk just looked up at him with a chuckle and a snort, and to show how fed up he was towards the thought of the culprit, he hunched his back and used an arm to support his head. "The bastard just walked right in here..." he replied, smiling to curb his anger, "... but the worst thing about him is that I don't know what he looks like. But the thing that really pissed me off was that he had the nerve to take someone else's clothes; you could just tell how much he didn't want anyone to know who he was." And as soon as the punk said his piece, everyone immediately gave shocked expressions to one particular detail that he mentioned.

"Someone else's clothes?" Chie asked, almost in disbelief, "What? Like he just randomly stripped someone of their clothes after knocking them out and put them on?" The group knew that she was talking sarcastically, and some like Yosuke, Yukiko and Rise just looked to her like it was one of the most ridiculous things Chie had ever conceived. But then the thug interrupted them with a finger that pointed towards her. "Yeah, that's right! But not, like, stark naked or anything." he answered, instantly turning the group's head towards him with another surprised expression. It was a silly thought to come by, but the mobster didn't seem any more than truthful in his reply, which only made the Investigation Team members sorry that they looked at Chie in that way as well as making Chie so surprised that she had struck gold again in her usual manner. "Seriously?!" Yosuke asked in outburst, "How could you know that though? Did you just watch him rob someone of their clothes?"

"Of course not!" the punk replied in a shout, defending himself from Yosuke's misunderstanding, "When he came here, he was wearing a hoodie my friend wore. If I saw him taking his clothes, I would've gone and punched the guy out! But I didn't... because I only noticed him when he walked in." That was the moment the group had been waiting for; it was new information. But the only problem was that it didn't help at all with finding out what the identity of the culprit was. However, there was one other person they could ask for that. "About your friend, do you think he would know anything about the one who attacked him?" Mitsuru asked politely, hoping that the punk's friend would be around the vicinity for questioning.

"He ain't here... he's been in hospital since over a week ago... nine days maybe..." the thug replied, stuffing a hand in his pocket in reach for something, "because of what that bastard did, he's now being treated for concussion. But... he did have something on him when I found him. And it wasn't his." As the mobster said this, he brought his hand back out of the pocket, pulling out a small handheld device that seemed shockingly familiar to the S.E.E.S members.

The device was of a cylindrical shape with round sides on each end, and on the front of it was a small screen that would be used to bring up a sequence of digital numbers. Around the shape of the device was a silver ring that had certain buttons on it, as were there different kinds of buttons on the actual device itself, and on one end of it, there was a small lead socket where headphones would be connected; conveniently enough, in between two of the punk's fingers were a pair of circular headphones that were of the same brand as the device, and the construction of it had rings behind the metal that would be used to support the headphones on the individual's ears. On the same end, there was a navy-blue strap that was big enough to wrap around someone's neck comfortably.

And just like that, after only a glimpse of it, the S.E.E.S members were struck with a sudden shock at what they were seeing. They knew that the device the thug was holding was an old model of an MP3 player; an music player that they knew only belonged to one person in this day and age. It was Minato's MP3 player and headphones. The colours were fairly bleached from the device's original state, and the old look of it didn't leave any room of doubt that the music player the mobster was holding belonged to Minato. "It's no use to me; it's out of power and I don't have the charger for it," the punk said, holding the music player out in front of him as an offering to Akihiko, "so if it helps with anything you want to know about this guy, you can have it. Keep it even..."

The group knew what they had to do. That music player was something they had to obtain, mainly because of the sentimental value that's attached to it. And because they had knowledge of the culprits stealing Minato's belongings, they must've had a reason for having the music player; taking it back would probably help the investigation in some way, even if it wasn't that obvious at that moment. Potential evidence was right in front of them, and as Akihiko reached forward to take it from the mobster, he and the group could feel a better confidence in themselves that they would go much further in the investigation.

But, as soon as Akihiko's fingers brushed the music player, the punk immediately drew it away from him before he could get a grip on it, holding it beside his head. And just as this happened, the thug's look turned from his usual aggressive-neutral look to a devious and cynical expression that instantly spelt out trouble to the group. "... for a price." he then murmured in an evil tone, holding out his free hand in a flat position, flexing his fingers that only suggested one thing; he was willing to give the music player, but only in exchange for money.

Containing his frustration, Akihiko withdrew his hand and placed it back at his side quietly. But then, he lifted his arms and folded them, giving only one indication to the punk. "I don't see your hands in your pockets..." the mobster said threateningly, leaning forward in his seat with his head lowered, revealing a more frightening stare in his eyes. At this point, everyone was beginning to panic again, especially when the punk didn't stop making that petrifying glare at them. Even Akihiko was slightly wavered by the thug, but only because he had crucial evidence right in his grasp, and one step out of place might see the end of it. However, Akihiko kept his feet firmly on the ground. "What kind of money are we talking about here?" he asked, expecting a big figure.

"Just get your wallet out. I don't want to waste time thinking of a number, so anything you have to offer me will do." the punk replied, getting impatient due to the amount of time Akihiko was taking to even consider getting some yen out. The group knew that he wasn't going to change his terms any time soon, and the more they would stall, the more impatient the mobster would get; they needed to do something, and fast. But before anyone could begin to brainstorm ideas, their attention was immediately turned to the whole area around them.

All of a sudden, a whole hoard of adolescents, drunks, smokers and brawlers all stood up to form a circle around the group, staring at each of them with the same look the mobster had. It was the perfect threatening message; the group were being stared down to no end, and their lust for cash was so great that they even looked like they would literally murder someone for it. One thing was for sure. The danger they were in was nothing but imminent.

The adolescents had bottles as their weapon of choice; some were just empty bottles, some still had alcohol in them, and some were even broken at the bottom end. Seeing this, Yosuke was the first to get to the point of completely breaking down. "Akihiko, what do we do?!" he shouted in panicky whispers to him, trying to keep an eye on any sudden movement, even though keeping a look out wasn't enough to stop them. The groups options were limited, and the situation at that moment was two-fold; pay the money, whatever it may be, for Minato's music player, or don't pay and face the consequences, potentially that of serious ones. The exit was completely cut off, rendering the situation unescapable if they didn't do something.

One particular drunk man was looking at Yosuke with a deadly stare, and he was even holding a cracked bottle in his hand, flourishing it in a drunken manner like a musketeer without balance. If he was feeling any different to what he was feeling now, Yosuke would've found this much more hilarious, but man seemed deadly set on injuring someone; by the way he was only looking at Yosuke, it was clear that it was he who he wanted to injure. Yosuke tried to stand his ground, but in an act of wanting to protect him, Chie side-stepped in front of him, standing in between him and the drunk. She took up a lazy kung-fu stance as a means of making herself more confident, when in reality, she felt the same way Yosuke did. All they could do was look to one another with concerns for each other, hoping that none of them would have to go through a lot of pain to keep them safe.

However, Akihiko had a trump card, and he was willing to play it. Taking his eyes off the drunks, he turned his head back round to the punk, keeping a cool head about himself. He stood up straight and used a hand to rummage through the pocket inside the chest of his jacket. "All right then. I've got an offer for you," he said with a subtle sense of confidence, immediately turning everyone's heads towards him; the alley inhabitants looked at him with eyes that made them seem hungry for money, and the group couldn't decide on what to feel towards this act. They were glad that Akihiko was willing to give as much money as it took to walk away from this place with the music player in hand, but then there was shock because of how high the figure of money would be. Akihiko however was way ahead of them all. "How about...?" Akihiko began to ask the mobster, starting to grow a grin on his face, "... How about I offer you five years in jail?" At the same time when he said this, he swiftly pulled out his trainee police officer badge from the pocket and showed it to the thug, giving him a few seconds to see the full print on the golden-plating before he made his next move.

The punk, immediately reacting to his, stood up with a shock expression on his face. He flinched after a delay of taking it all in, and as Akihiko saw this happening, he found a window of opportunity. "Everyone! Get behind him!" he shouted to the others before making his move. Suddenly, Akihiko slammed his badge square into the mobster's face, and finding that he stunned him, he used the same arm to grab him from behind, holding him around his neck. To stop the thug from escaping, Akihiko lowered his arm whilst keeping a tight grip on him, forcing him to arch his back to create a huge difficulty for him as well as a huge pain in his spine. The rest of the group may have reacted to Akihiko's warning too late, but eventually, they then quickly ran to the back of him, proceeding him to pull out a gun from his waist holster.

In only a short matter of seconds, the tables had dramatically turned once again. As Akihiko raised his gun up to the many brawlers in front of him, he could see the many terrified faces that looked towards him with frightened expressions. "Yeah that's right, get back!" Akihiko yelled to them, watching as they were backing off in small baby steps. He alternated his gun between each person, making sure that every one of them was keeping clear of the hazard area. As he did this, everyone managed to get a good look of the gun that he was holding; at first, they all thought that Akihiko holding up a gun at individuals was not like him, especially when he had a good moral standing, but when they looked closer, they could see that the pistol was actually his Evoker. "Mitsuru!" he then called to Mitsuru with a slight turn of his head, shouting with clearness so that everyone else could hear, "Call the police!"

And as he said yelled out those three final words, every one of the adolescents gasped in unison and immediately began to run out of the alleyways through the exit all at once. When Mitsuru pressed the three numbers needed for an emergency call, they bunched, squeezed and desperately tried to worm their way out of the queue of panicking people that tried to do the same. "What the – ! Hey! Wh-where are you all going?! Help me out here!" the punk cried out, almost like he was begging for the help from the masses, "Shit! You bunch of numb-nuts'!"

"Now we can do this quietly..." Akihiko said, watching the last of the drunks leave the area, "... I'm arresting you for the attempt of assaulting a police officer and on suspicion of drug-dealing. You do not have to say anything, but it may harm your defence if you do not mention now something you later rely on in court. Anything you do say may be given in evidence." For Akihiko, he felt good having said that for the first time in his police career, and to make it better, it was his first arrest. As for the punk, he still tried to squirm his way out of Akihiko's neck hold, and he could only think that he was in the deepest of trouble with the law. "Go to hell! I ain't... gonna take shit from a... from a police officer!" the punk shouted up to Akihiko, struggling with the back pain as he spoke.

Suddenly, a sharp needle-like pain sprung from the thug's leg, causing him to cry out in agony at how much his skin felt like it was being penetrated. He looked down at his ankle and found that Koromaru was the one who was digging his canine teeth in; for a small breed of dog, he had a powerful bite. As he sunk his teeth in deeper and deeper, he growled and snarled, adding a factor of fear into the mobster. There was no sign that he was going to stop anytime soon, and the more he bit into the leg, the deeper his teeth were going.

"All right, the police are on their way now," Mitsuru informed as she placed her mobile phone back into her winter coat pocket, "Detective Kurosawa also says that you did a good job, Akihiko." Just hearing that compliment from a high-ranking detective such as Kurosawa was very encouraging to Akihiko. To arrest and someone for the right reasons for the first time and receive that kind commendation gave him a very satisfied feeling. But for the moment he had to put it aside and focus on getting back to the other group with the evidence they've gathered.

"You heard that? Looks like the cops are going to take care of you... now if you don't mind..." Akihiko said in a tone of derogatory, only sounding that way to break the thug down bit by bit, "... I'll be taking that." Then, after he sheathed the Evoker into the holster, he quickly snatched the music player away from the mobster's grasp and placed it in the same pocket where his badge was, managing to keep a hold of the squirming body that struggled to get out of his choke hold. But then, unexpectedly, Akihiko turned round with the punk, and when he found the right time, just when Koromaru let go of the leg, he released him from the hold and used a foot to push him into the nearby wall. Conveniently, right next to the thug was an unused bike rack that was built into the wall; when Akihiko saw this, he quickly leapt to the mobster and pulled out a pair of handcuffs from his belt. Before the punk could get back up again, Akihiko snapped one cuff onto his wrist and clicked the other onto the bike rack, standing back before the thug could lash out at him.

"No! Shit!" the delinquent yelled, finding it difficult to face the group in the position he was in, both in terms of being ashamed of himself and because he couldn't turn round to face them; he had to remain facing the wall since Akihiko pushed him in that way, "Let me go! Please! I-I'm sorry about ganging up on you! I've learnt my lesson!" The group didn't have any sympathy for him. He already had two chances to fully cooperate with the group with no fuss involved, but knowing that he tried to have a brawl with Akihiko and tried to gang up on them with the rest of the alley crew, his plead for help only made him seem more pathetic than he did at that moment. "It might sound cliché when I say this. But tell that to the judge. Or better yet, you can tell the police when they get here... they shouldn't be too long." Akihiko said as a final word before making his way out of the alleys. Everyone else followed suit, and as they left, they could just hear clanging of his handcuffs and the desperate tones in his calls. It was like being in a thriller film, hearing those sounds die down the further they got from him. It wasn't like he was going to left to die on his own; he had the police to take care of that when they come for him.

Finally making their way out of the train station's backside, the group could now concentrate on getting back to the others. The trek from the Port Island Station to the old Iwatodai Dorm was quite a big one, but considering they've been on bigger walks in the TV world, they only took it like a normal everyday walk in the city. "Yosuke, are you going to contact Yu? It might be worth telling him about what's happened." Yukiko asked.

"Yeah, sure," Yosuke replied. He took the walkie talkie from the side of his jeans and collected his thoughts before pressing the button to send out a transmission to him. He'd only want to keep it short for Yu; he didn't want to go into any details involving what happened with the punk and the alley kids. When he was ready, he held the button down and began to speak. "Hello?" he spoke into the microphone section of the radio, hoping that Yu was there to pick up rather than making him wait for a reply.

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><p><em>0809 – Evening – The Iwatodai Dorm_

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><p>After a moment of taking a break from searching, Yu heard the crackly voice of Yosuke's from the walkie talkie. Taking the radio from his pocket, he put the microphone up to his mouth and held the button down. "Yosuke. You've been a long time," Yu replied, hoping that the amount of time he and the group have had there was worth the wait, "did you guys find anything?"<p>

"_Yeah, we've found something. And we've also got some new information on one of the culprits," _Yosuke answered with a tone that made him seem proud of the intel he and the others in his group gathered, _"which one do you want first?"_When Yu heard the two good news he heard all day, it was hard for him to choose which one to receive first; to him, they were both equally as important. Instead of wasting time thinking about it though, Yu gave his answer. "Give me the new information first. These guys are our priority at the moment." he said, turning his attention back to searching through Minato's room.

There was a pause before Yosuke's voice broke through the static again. Yu could hear the sound of his deep breaths along with the rain he was walking in, which slightly obscured the sounds that were coming through the speaker. However, he was able to hear every word. _"All right,"_Yosuke said, sounding exhausted and tired, _"we questioned one of the regulars who goes to the place behind Port Island Station, and... before I say it, I know it'll sound ridiculous, but it's true..."_As Yu was being asked to understand, he at first gave a confused expression, but he didn't think Yosuke needed to say it; they had all seen some unbelievable stuff from these culprits, and if anything, they've had the most extraordinary characteristics out of every enemy they came across. Even when compared to Shadows, these guys seemed like super-humans. "Well, if I can believe that they can jump from one place to another in under a second and they can provoke our own Shadows out of us using false entities which they create, I think I'll believe pretty much anything you say, Yosuke." Yu joked, chuckling as he spoke.

"_Haha... yeah I suppose so." _Yosuke chuckled with him, proceeding to inform Yu of his group's findings, _"Well, you know the one boy with the black jacket? What we heard was that, that jacket isn't his. It belonged to someone else who was a regular who hung out with other people behind the station." _And just like that, Yu had contradicted himself, giving a surprised expression that suggested how she somehow didn't believe what Yosuke had just said. It was quite a strange conception at first, but, even though he still had a bit of him still wondering if Yosuke was joking or not, it had some truth to it. "What do you mean?" Yu asked, slightly baffled, "Like, did he knocked the guy unconscious or something before taking the jacket from him?"

"_Yeah, that's what Chie said!" _Yosuke said in outburst, sounding ecstatic by how Yu had given exactly the same conclusion Chie did. In response to Yosuke, Yu pulled the walkie talkie away from his head and gave it a strange look, somewhat dumbfounded by how a simple ridiculous guess was the real reason why that one culprit had been wearing that black jacket. But taking Yosuke's explanation as genuine, he brought the radio back to his lips. "Looks like you're not joking then," Yu said, referring to his line of thinking to settle on what the new information meant, hearing an unintentional sigh from Yosuke's end in between, "but it does make me wonder... it's like the one culprits does more damage than the other. Why is that?"

"_I'm as stumped as you are, dude. But one things for sure, and it's that these guys are not your average thieves. What if the other guy had done the same thing elsewhere?" _Yosuke said, almost like he had no energy in himself to do the thinking, _"Now that you mention it though, it does seem weird that the other guy hasn't been in the picture as much as the first one. I dunno." _They could only wonder, but the knew that anything they could think of at that time would just be mere speculation, and possibly even nowhere near to what the actual reasons are. Even after gaining some new information, more questions spawned with more answers still within difficult reach. "Let's not worry about that now. What was the other thing you wanted to tell me?" Yu asked, holding the speaker up to his ear in eagerness.

"_Oh yeah! We found something while we were there, but I don't know what for, personally," _Yosuke replied after a short pause, _"It was some kind of music player, but I'm not sure I'm the guy to give you details on that though. I don't even know why we have it in the first place." _Again, after hearing another bit of good news, Yu could only feel like he had to give weird expressions to the information. Just like Yosuke, Yu couldn't even think of how something as a music player would help anything. "A music player?" he asked, hoping that maybe someone from S.E.E.S would know, "Could you pass me to Mitsuru please, Yosuke?"

"_Oh, sure thing." _Yosuke said finally before cutting off the transmission for a temporary moment. As Yu waited for a response, he rested his back against the nearby wall with the walkie talkie hovering over his ear. He had looked in every crevice in the room, and even though he had Yukari along with him to conduct the search, they couldn't find anything in the time they were there; they only hoped that others from their group had found something.

"Yu, how's everyone else doing? What's going on?" Yukari asked from the other side of the room, also feeling slightly disheartened by the lack of evidence they've found. Finding no other place to look, she decided to walk over to Yu, joining him in the conversation between him and the other group at the Port Island Station. "They're doing better than we are, that's for sure..." Yu said somewhat sheepishly, "... did you hear about the whole jacket-taking situation just now?"

"Yeah, I overhead you. To be honest though, I thought it was a joke at first," Yukari replied, getting a look from Yu that looked as if to say 'fair enough', "though it would kind of make sense... anyway, what was that just now about a music player?" Before Yu could answer, Mitsuru's voice broke through the static of the radio, interrupting their conversation.

"_Yu, you wanted to speak with me?" _Mitsuru asked, her tone obscured due to the amount of crackle and screeches there were in the transmission. Hovering the microphone section over his chin, he held the button down to send his voice through. "Yes, Mitsuru," Yu replied, somewhat putting effort into keeping himself patient, "Yosuke already let me know about the music player, but I was just wondering if there was any reason for obtaining it. If you know anything about it, may I ask what it's for?" Letting go of the button, Yu and Yukari waited as patiently as they could for Mitsuru's reply. During a pause, they took a short while to think on the many reasons why the group suddenly had a random music player in their possession; no matter how much they thought on it, they couldn't find a plausible idea good enough.

"_Oh yes. We forgot to explain to everyone else in the group..." _Mitsuru eventually answered. There was another delay in the walkie talkie's receiver, which only made Yu and Yukari all the more anxious to learn about what the significance of the music player is. But then, Mitsuru continued when her voice returned. _"Do you remember when we told you about the stolen items that belonged to Minato? Well... since I've said it now... that music player belongs to him. There's no way we could've mistaken it."_

"What?!" Yukari cried out into the speaker, and as the same time, voices crying out the same thing boomed from the walkie talkie. Suddenly desperate to know how Minato's MP3 player had ended up in a rotten place like the backside of the Port Island Station, Yukari pressed for answers, "His music player was there?! How?! How did it get there?!" she asked, anxiously wanting to know just like that, the words were taken right from Yu's mouth. It was like everyone in that group was full of unbelievable things that day, and it was getting to that point where Yu was starting to think that the investigation was turning insane. But he knew as well as anyone else that the situation they were in was no laughing matter, so it was clear that no one was joking.

"_The person we questioned said that, when the culprit took his clothes, he found the music player on him. And he knew it wasn't his, so maybe it was planted on him. But for what reason?" _Mitsuru explained, asking the question that was on everyone's lips at that very moment. At first, Yu and Yukari thought that Mitsuru's question was rhetorical, so that she could give an answer which she already came to. But after a long pause, it was clear that nobody knew. That was until a thought suddenly sprung to Yu's mind.

"Wait," Yu said as he brought the radio to his mouth, "we're talking about someone who likes to play games here. If he was the one who purposely put the music player on the body, don't you think that maybe that was for us in some way?" It was a bold thought from the leader, but at the same time, everyone could see where he was coming from. The two boys had always been causing trouble, and they always went about it in the way tricksters would; wherever they were, they were always creating havoc two steps in front of the group. It was like Yu said: it was a game to them, and the music player had to be another piece on the chessboard. "Hmm?" Yukari hummed, looking to Yu for something with more clarity, "Do you think so?"

"Well, here's what I think," Yu said, gathering everything he knew about the culprits so far, "when I first met these two, they named themselves as the culprits right in front of me, and we've all seen what they're capable of. There's no way a normal criminal would just flat out say to us that they committed those crimes, but in their case, maybe it was for a reason..."

"_A game..." _Mitsuru's voice said through the radio, coming to the same answer Yu did.

"That's the most likely scenario..." Yu replied, referring back to his thoughts to explain his own thesis, "... what other reason would they have for making us run around town trying to find evidence on these guys? They claimed to have stolen Minato's body, but they don't want us to find him that easily; they're criminals after all... they needed a puzzle difficult enough for us to solve, but to make it so we don't ever solve it, they needed to get rid of us. But what I don't get is how Minato comes into all of this; the culprits have his items, they've even used his own blade on me. I hate to say it, but it's like they're trying to distract us from our original goal, and we've been focusing more on finding out who the culprits are." When Yu had finished explaining his long-winded theory, Yukari could see what he was trying to say, and the group members on the other side of the walkie talkie seemed to understand him as well. The thought was put forward, and after getting responses that agreed from Yukari and the others, it was then clear that the music player as well as other things belonging to Minato weren't just merely stolen; they were game pieces used to stray everyone away from getting any closer to the whereabouts of Minato's body.

"Those guys... they are just so sick...!" Yukari said, nearly shouting due to her upset. Before she could fuel her anger any more than it did then, Yu held her shoulders and lowered his body to look at her face, comforting her so that she didn't have to feel the same way towards the culprits alone. "Hey, hey, Yukari..." he called to her, "... don't worry, you have every right to be angry with them. I feel the same as you do. But let's try to keep a cool head for just a while longer." And hearing his words of comfort and wisdom, Yukari's shoulders slumped, casting off the tension and anxiety. Trying to put the negative thoughts to one side, Yukari lifted her head, attempting to gather some positivity. "Yeah, sorry..." Yukari apologised, forcing a grin on her face, "... well, if they're playing a game, we'll just have to find a way to break the rules, right?"

"_That's the spirit, Yukari!" _Akihiko's voice praised her through the walkie talkie, sounding glad as well as everyone else how encouraged she was. Yu was pleased to see this change in behaviour from Yukari, even though he still had small doubts about if she was putting it on or not. However, if she was willing to say something to boost everyone's morale, Yu would gladly take that as a good sign. "Oh, wait!" he suddenly said, bringing the radio swiftly up to his chin, "Akihiko, did you ask the person when he found that music player?"

"When? Nine days ago he told us." Akihiko replied briefly. It was clear that his group already knew what the date was back then, but when Yu double-checked and sent his mind back to nine days ago, he could remember the train incident that caused his head injury. Immediately, he knew what to do. "Right," he emphasised, putting the walkie talkie back into his pocket and turning his head back to Yukari, "Yukari, could you tell everyone else about this? We'll need to get back to the Tatsumi Hall soon." Before Yukari could answer, she was slightly startled by how quickly Yu was giving his orders; she also knew what happened nine days ago, but she could never process that information as quickly as Yu could. "Er! Yeah sure," she answered, just about catching up with Yu, "but why? What's happening?"

"We'll hold a meeting tonight. If those boys are really playing a game, they might have stored some information on that music player which we can extract using the computer room." Yu answered, causing Yukari to be amazed at how much thought Yu put into the plan in only a short matter of seconds. But taking her orders, she headed for the door. "I'll catch up with you in a moment. I'm just going to do another search around here first." Yu said again before Yukari left the room, nodding to him as she went. He then turned his attention back to the walkie talkie. "Did you hear that, Akihiko?"

"_Loud and clear. We'll start making our way back to the dorm then. See you all later." _Akihiko responded before cutting the transmission there. At the same time, Yu pressed a button on his radio to stop sending the frequencies before continuing with his search. Suddenly, all was quiet, and since Yu was the only one in the room, it made it all the more eerie for him; it was like he was standing in a graveyard where everything he saw told him of a memory as well as the history behind it. But that was exactly what it was. However, when he asked for Yukari to go away to tell everyone else of the news, his intentions for doing that were different to what he told Yukari.

Instead of beginning the umpteenth search, he found that there was no need to. With one hand, he reached into the chest pocket of his winter coat and pulled out what seemed to be a mobile phone. But it wasn't his own. _"I'm relieved she didn't notice... but I'm going to have to tell the others at some point..." _he thought to himself, as if his voice in his head was speaking for him. What he had in his hand was Minato's cell phone; he found it just down the side of the dusty mattress, but because of Yu's agenda, he wasn't ready to show the phone to Yukari, nor give the news to everyone else. He had thoughts on who the culprits might be, one of which he definitely didn't want to mention to the others.

As he flipped the phone open, he pressed a couple of keys to enter the call history section. Then after getting into it, he scrolled through the list. In fact, when he intended to scroll, he found that he didn't have to, because the most recent call that was made on this phone were to another phone number on the 4th of August; the date which Yu remembers when one of the culprits had called him, just before Junpei and Koromaru were lured into the TV.

Yu had already looked at this list earlier, but when he saw it again, he still didn't believe the thoughts that were going through his mind; ever since he first thought of the potential identity of the first culprit, he had been telling himself constantly that it wouldn't be true. But looking at the call history at that moment was starting to slowly settle those thoughts in his mind. There may have been some reluctancy just thinking about it, but Yu just found it impossible to keep his mind off of it.

**Oooooh! What is Yu thinking?! Looks like we'll have to find out in the next few chapters! But I'm afraid to say, everyone, that because I'm going to University in just over a week's time, I might have to take a three or four year hiatus so that I can put my full concentration on my studies while I'm there. Now, this isn't completely set in stone yet, but it may be possible that I won't be able to write during that time – however, that doesn't mean that I will be giving up the writing! If I find time in University, I'll probably do some writing then, but I will most likely be doing some writing on holiday periods when I'm back home! So I've very sorry in advance for the amount of time you will probably have to wait for the next chapter, but I'm definitely not finished with this story just yet! I haven't come forty chapters into the story only to give it up now! So if you're eager to read some more of this story, I will have to ask you to please be patient... it'll be very long before something will come up, but I will get there! Until then, however (and this isn't goodbye just yet!), keep reading and reviewing and I will see you all later!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Mitsuru: What is important is extracting whatever traces of information there are on the music player._

_Yosuke: We've been running round the city, we've been fighting Shadows, we've been staying up until midnight and going into the TV for crazy amount of time. All of that just to find Minato._

_Akihiko: Fuuka, what's happening?!_

_Aigis: A virus?!_

_?: This is no ordinary dream..._


	41. The Voice Of The Dead

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Forty-One_

_The Voice Of The Dead_

**Mai Ya Hee, Mai Ya Hoo, Mai Ya Hi-Hi everyone! Apologies for the confusion of my greeting just there! If you know the reference, then brilliant! So... SURPRISE! Yep, by the time I've published this chapter, I would be getting settled into my University accommodation. But what's more, I managed to publish it whilst juggling other things, so that's quite an achievement! Well, now that you're sitting comfortably, LET'S-GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0809 – Late Night – Tatsumi Hall_

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><p>The first group to back to the dorm was Yu's, and only spending a short amount of time in the downpour, their clothes remained somewhat dry with only a few damp spots here and there. But when the second group came in, damp would be a complete and utter understatement; every inch of their clothes were soaked through to their skin and all the rainwater they collected on themselves were dripping off of their coats and even their hair. Things were looking miserable for the team so far, and to make matters worse, the evening they squandered suddenly turned into night. Or to put it more specifically, a quarter of an hour before midnight. Knowing this, the group had to act quickly before the Midnight Channel comes on. It felt somewhat disheartening that they couldn't have their usual afternoon banter with Nanako tonight, but they had to press on.<p>

After a quick change of clothes and a swift dry of their hair, they all hurried up to the computer room, where Yu had asked everyone to meet up in, and waited for one another as they filtered into the room. After every couple of minutes, a person ran though the doors to meet up with everyone else, and with every wait, everyone else felt an overwhelming sense of concern for the amount of time that was ticking away. Of course, they all knew that the computer was operable during the Dark Hour, but from what they remember a few nights ago, they also understood that the computer could might as well be a cinema screen for the Midnight Channel; keeping control of a working computer during the Dark Hour, where the Midnight Channel could tune in at any time made everyone think that extracting information from the music player they obtained would most likely be mayhem. However they knew that they had to try and preferably before midnight comes.

While some were waiting for others, they took the time to quickly look at the news on the small TV that sat idly in the far corner of the room. " – Iwatodai Police, today, have arrested a young man suspected of multiple drug-deals, perversion of the course of justice, and one attempted assault on an official trainee police officer. The tracking of the man in his mid-twenties convicted of these crimes had recordings of dodging police activity since the year 2009. He was, however, only one of the many people of this occupation who regularly visit behind the Port Island Station. He is now in police custody and will be questioned tomorrow morning." said the posh-toned news presenter, shuffling his papers to move on to the next topic of news.

"Wow, so you caught him then?" Junpei asked as he turned his head round to Akihiko, who felt quite satisfied with how the plan worked out. Akihiko turned his head towards the screen with his eyes fixated on the badly pixelated photo of the man he just arrested. "Yeah. Not bad for a police officer in training, eh?" he replied with a grin on his face, "He was the guy we collected the music player from, but even so, the cops around here have been having trouble arresting him. I know this guy as well, so everything worked out near to perfect."

"Akihiko, that's not important right now..." said a wet-haired Mitsuru as she came through the double doors, entering the room like she heard Akihiko's voice from miles away, "... but what is important is extracting whatever traces of information there are on the music player. And before midnight would be preferable." Akihiko knew what they had to do, but he was always one for thinking that he wasn't squandering his or others time, no matter how tight for time they were at that moment; but he also knew that Mitsuru was right to nag him about it and decided not to start any arguments with her.

" – In other news," the verbally-correct news presenter spoke on the TV again, "Apathy Syndrome is on the rise again and researchers say that it could be an even bigger threat than the disease when it was previously introduced before. The sudden outbreak of this illness happened only days ago with healthcare demand rising at a consistent rate. There is, as of yet, no confirmation of the whereabouts of its source –" Just as the presenter was about to hand his cue over to the news reporter next to him, Fuuka walked up to the TV and quickly pressed the power button on the front of it, turning it off so that she or anyone else didn't have to hear what they already knew about Apathy Syndrome.

She turned round to the others with a concerned look on her face. "It's just one problem after another, isn't it?" she asked rhetorically with a sigh, feeling the same strain of responsibility everyone else was feeling. Because it was so close to midnight, it was the worst time of day to be thinking about such things. The darkness of the night and the consistent pattering of the rain was bad enough, but they knew that the Dark Hour and the Midnight Channel would change all of that into something more ghastly.

"You don't need to tell me that," Yosuke said, slouching in his seat from the exhaustion that weighed down on him, "we've been running around the city, we've been fighting Shadows, we've been staying up until midnight and going into the TV for crazy amounts of time. All of that just to find Minato..." It was hard not to agree with him; the masses of work they all had to put in just to find some clue of where Minato's body might be was both astounding and largely a pain for everyone. But they knew that this was what the culprits wanted. If they wanted to know the whereabouts of his body, they had to work for it, unwittingly playing by their own rules to reach their goal.

However, they knew fully well that giving up just wasn't an option, not when two of the most tricky people in Iwatodai were roaming around the place playing them like pawns on a gaming board; no one was having it. "I know what you mean, Yosuke. I'm getting sick of this as well," Yu reassured Yosuke, understanding where he was coming from, "but that's just what they want, and we need to abide by their rules until we can find some way to break them. At the moment, the only hope of doing that would be to find out who they are... so that we can finally put them behind bars."

"Put them in jail? But they can teleport... surely putting them in prison wouldn't stop them. They'd just escape." Ken explained, finding one particular problem with what Yu suggested, "Besides, catching them is the hardest part!" When Yu pondered on the subject, he immediately knew that Ken was right and rested a palm on his face, finding that the exhaustion was starting to get to him. He was also right about the thought of arresting the boys; every night since the Midnight Channel's return, with the exception of the return of Yosuke's Shadow, these two culprits have had advantages well beyond human comprehension, and even after arresting one of them once, they always managed to slip out of their grasp. Even Yu was coming to point where he thought that capturing the two culprits was hopeless as well as wishful thinking.

After a pause of nearly everyone thinking the same thing, Naoto spoke up with her detective mind at work. "That may not be entirely true..." she said with confidence, instantly turning everyone's heads towards her, "... in fact, as far as I can tell, their ability to jump from one place to another might depend on when and where they are." As she stated her thesis, everyone else put on intrigued expressions and looks of hard thinking to see what she was trying to get at. But after a short while of giving them all a chance to think on it, Naoto continued with her deduction. "Think back to yesterday; when we were chasing down that one culprit, he didn't use any teleportation whatsoever. Instead, he decided to run a whole lap around the city, and even decides to wind Akihiko instead of just jumping from the place he was standing to another place."

No one could've forgotten that chase, and just thinking about it made nearly everyone's faces cringe at their failure that day. But reminding themselves of the boy's actions that day did make them start to think about what Naoto was explaining to them. Yu, however, sent his mind even deeper into the past week and arrived at the memory of when he first realised the boy's true intentions; when that boy gave him the scar on the side of his cheek. He could find that there was no teleporting activity at that time as well, and that was when he knew.

Yu lifted his head up to Naoto with confidence that his reply would be a right guess. But before he could open his mouth, Marie, who sat on the arm of the couch opposite him, arrived at the answer first. "This happened during the day, right?" she asked rhetorically before continuing, "So their abilities might not work in the day maybe..." It was only a small bit of evidence, but everyone else was willing to take it as a reliable piece of information, especially with how plausible it sounded to them.

Naoto nodded to her. "That was what I was thinking as well, mainly because of the fact that we rarely see these two outside in the open during the day, but that's not all," she explained, coming up with another thought that would reinforce her point, "their abilities seem to coincide a lot with the Midnight Channel as well as midnight itself. So it is quite possible that their abilities are only active during midnight, and because of the Dark Hour, they would've given themselves more time to use those abilities." Suddenly, it all became to clear to everyone; but what wasn't clear was the reason why these two culprits had access to such power along with the restrictions and limitations it had.

But somewhere in their heads nagged at them that this kind of power didn't just come from anywhere, nor could it have been bestowed upon them just like that. There had to be a source. But the answer was all too easy to figure out. "Their powers must've come from somewhere though..." Aigis said, slowly turning her head round to the blank TV in the corner of the room. When everyone noticed this, expressions of confusion was spread around the room like a flu. But when they directed their eyes towards where Aigis was looking, it hit them, and it hit them hard.

There were mutual feelings of realisation from across the room, but better yet, there was also a shared feeling of clarity; if the culprits' powers really did come from within the TV and were interrupted by the real world, then there was only one thing to do. And even though they knew it wouldn't be any easy task, there was no other plan of retaliation that they could think of. Everyone looked to one another with the same look of concern on their faces. "You mean... we have to play them at their own game...?" Rise asked, looking to Yu for the answer.

"Hmm? What do you mean, Rise?" Yukiko asked from the other side of the room, sounding slightly skeptical at Rise's proposal. Others thought the same thing she did, and others felt like they understood; but all of them were undoubtably fearful for what it was that they might've had to go through to achieve the capture of the two criminals. Before Rise could answer though, Yu lifted his head up after giving it some thought. "We have to do the same thing to them as they did to us," he answered, pausing in between to confirm a plan in his mind, "we have to lure them out of the TV."

Suddenly, everyone startled at what Yu was saying. Shocked expressions were all Yu and Rise could see, and it wasn't to their surprise to see everyone show this; the plan sounded ludicrous, and some even wanted to chuckle at how someone even came up with it. But they knew that the plan was all they got. However, Chie brought up another flaw. "But wait... surely we'd need to get rid of the Dark Hour first before we can do that," she proposed, "otherwise, wouldn't they just jump out of prison when midnight comes?"

"Hmm... that's true..." Kanji muttered in reply, lowering his head in thought even though some knew that it wouldn't have done any good anyway, despite his efforts of finding a solution to the predicament. All of a sudden, the plan they all initially wanted to stick to instantly found themselves with another big problem; a problem that had everyone in silence. To capture the criminals in the real world where their powers are blocked would mean having to stop the other source of their abilities in the real world first. But everyone, including S.E.E.S, knew too well how the Dark Hour had ended before, and that miracle costed them a friend. They may have had their lead, but the way to go about fulfilling it was just impossible to find an answer to.

Silence filled the room, but not for too long; as Teddie turned his head towards the clock in the room, he could see that the second hand was slowly approaching midnight. But worst yet, he could also see that there was only exactly one minute left of the day before reality would be plunged into the hidden hour. A worrying feeling built up inside him, and as he scanned his eyes across the room, he made a headcount, but only to find that one person was missing from the group. "Ahhhh! It's nearly midnight!" he cried out in panic, flailing his arms to get everyone's attention, "B-b-but where's Yukari-chan?!" Immediately, everyone's heads darted left and right, hoping that Teddie was just bad at counting people. But when they all did their own head-counts, there was no sight of Yukari whatsoever, causing them to stand up in a panic and preparing themselves to make their way to the lower floors of the Tatsumi Hall.

"I'm right here!" shouted a voice from outside the double doors. And before anyone could move from their spot, Yukari quickly came into the computer room with a small connector wire and Minato's music player in hand. Just seeing her walk into the room made everyone sigh in relief, releasing the weight in their muscles that tensed in their panic attacks. "Geez, Yukari," Junpei murmured to Yukari with his hands holding his hips in lightheadedness, "you're cutting it a bit fine, aren't you?"

Yukari only felt somewhat guilty towards the group, not only for taking so long with what she was doing, but also for making them worry so close to midnight. She seemed out of breath, but she seemed somewhat glad to have made it to them in time before the Midnight Channel was about to broadcast. "Sorry, sorry. I wasn't able to find it for a while, but I've got the wire right here..." she apologised as she tried to catch her breath, "... I couldn't look at anything on the music player; there's no battery power left in there. But if you connect it to the computer, it'll charge up and we can access it then."

"Ah, good job, Yukari..." Yu praised her with a smile whilst still recovering from his shock, taking the music player and the wire from her, "... at least you're here now, so we're pretty much all set for tonight. Think you can manage a second night without the culprits breathing down your neck?" Yu had asked this out of all seriousness, especially due to the amount of containment Yukari was showing throughout the whole day of searching through Minato's room. Yukari, however, took the question as if he was asking out of reassurance and in confidence that she could manage it. Yukari smiled to him, as did he to her but in a more forceful fashion than she was letting on.

"I think so..." Yukari replied briefly, speaking as if she was putting as much effort into sounding as genuine as possible. However, Yu could see through her brave face; he respected her greatly for trying to move on from the recent events as well as the events that affected her in the long term, but no matter how much he tried to find the truth in her eyes, all he saw was repression. Although, he did see somewhere in her expression that she was containing whatever feelings she had rather well. In fact, he even thought that she was beginning to get back on track with things. Everyone else could see this slight change in will and even gave Yukari looks of confidence in her. It didn't last long, however.

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><p><em>0810 – Dark Hour_

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><p>Suddenly, the overhead chandelier immediately lost its light, losing all electricity with it. As the grandfather clock finally struck twelve, the room became blackened in its darkness where no source of light could be seen. All other appliances were cut off from its power, as well as everything else in the whole of Iwatodai. But then slowly, the glow of green spattered the walls and floors in the only way the Dark Hour knew, and the damp spots of crimson filled in the blank corners of the room. As well as the sickly neon-like colours emitting from every angle, there was also the illuminating, yet mesmerising brightness of the midnight moon as it crept through the nearby window, stretching its light as if it was trying to reach everyone's feet. Outside was the spitting image of the inside, but dotted with several coffins that stood idly in pools of blood on the pavements.<p>

The Dark Hour was active, and the mutual feeling of danger was as potent as ever. Yukari was still a target, and everyone still needed to protect her. But since this was the second night she would potentially go without falling into the culprits' trap, the concern wasn't as high as it was the night before. However, none of them would admit that they didn't scared in the least. When the Dark Hour made its full entrance, everyone looked towards the TV in the corner of the room; they walked up to it and fixated their eyes on it, waiting in fear of what might appear on the screen. The sound of the falling rain didn't help the atmosphere whatsoever, and it was even off-putting. But they didn't have to wait that long to find out.

The screen suddenly buzzed with a burst of static and spat out black and white fuzz with a green tint that gave the TV a dull colouration. The many frequencies and airwaves filled the screen in incoherent patterns, almost making many of the group dizzy just watching it. The sounds of the transmitters went wild, ranging from high to low tones in a discordant melody that sounded like a multiple broken radios playing all at once; it was hurtful to the human ear, and maybe anyone within earshot would feel discomforted at the sound.

As an act of protecting Yukari, some of the group held their arms slightly outwards in front of her, preparing themselves for anything that might pose as a threat to her. "Brace yourselves..." Akihiko muttered, also holding an arm out in front of Yukari. Waiting for the silhouette to come up, the screen still flickered, regurgitating any rubbish out that it could. At one point, the group had to bring their heads closer to the screen so that they could get a better view of what was behind all the mess on the screen. All they did was hope and hope even more with every second that passed; they already failed to find the hidden information on the music player before seeing all of this, so they needed something positive to change their luck around.

Then, at the last second...

...Nothing.

The TV just blanked out; the screeching of the frequencies, the fuzz of black and white, and the barely cohesive jumbling of the airwaves that filled up the screen with nothing but mayhem. All of them just buzzed out of view, back into a normal glass TV screen, and all that remained was just silence.

"Wha...?" Fuuka spoke aloud her thoughts with a chuckle, almost in disbelief at what she saw for the second time running, "There was nothing there... did you guys see anything?" And when she asked, everyone instantly responded with a shake of their heads. Just like Fuuka everyone seemed dumbfounded by how Yukari had managed to find herself completely out of danger's way for another night, and even just seeing her with them now, on that side of the TV, was just a sight to behold; it was like a miracle.

"Hahaha! Yuka-tan! Way to go!" Junpei praised Yukari greatly, holding his arms out as a gesture of how awestruck he was towards her.

"Yes, well done, Yukari!" Mitsuru cried out in happiness, hugging her with one arm around her.

"You did it, Yukari-senpai! You did it!" Rise joined in with a celebratory one-armed hug, the hug between two become three.

Before Yukari was even ready for it, everyone else suddenly came up to her to praise her for her bravery; after all, she was still officially the only one who didn't succumb to the Midnight Channel's power. No one knew how she did it, nor even managed it, and when they looked at Yukari's baffled face, they could just tell that she didn't have a clue either. Some were hugely relieved and others just wanted to shrug it off with a good laugh about it; they were all proud of Yukari though and knowing that they can go about their business with ease for another night is something they were all very grateful for.

"Well, that could only mean one thing," Yu said, holding out a hand in a high-five position, "not only have we found someone who's tougher than the rest of us, but hopefully this could be the start of something." Spoken like a true leader, Yu held the hand in front of Yukari and watched as her smile grew on her face. It was true about what he said; if Yukari, the person everyone saw to be the most likeliest person to get lured into the TV, managed to avoid any contact with it for another night, then it had to mean something. Taking Yu's words as a push for encouragement, Yukari lifted a hand of her own and threw it into Yu's in a friendly high-five. "Oh god, that was scary..." she muttered to herself before turning her attention to the group that supported her all the way throughout, "... but you guys helped me out. If it weren't for you, I would've been the first to go in, let alone to go in at all. These last few days have been so hard for me... but you all have been giving up your time to help me..."

Somewhere inside her, Yukari was feeling somewhat guilty for taking up a lot of her cohorts' time, especially when all they had to deal with was her sadness and her bereavement. But even so, the end result of their efforts had brought a smile to her face, and because how seldom-seen it had become, it was heartwarming to see that grin. "Anyway, I just wanted to say... thanks guys..." Yukari said in gratitude, turning round to the Investigation Team after saying her thanks to S.E.E.S, "... and thank you guys as well. Man... I don't know what I would've done without you if you hadn't come here."

"Haha. We didn't do much, honestly." Kanji said with a grin, although sounding like he was only saying it because of how cliché the response was. But he was right; Yukari may have needed their help from time to time, but the rest was all done on her own. Anyone in the Investigation Team, and in S.E.E.S, could see that Yukari was stronger than she thought she was. "Well, in any case, we're just glad that you're okay, Yukari." Yosuke stated, expressing a slight cheerfulness about himself; some also felt this way, based on the fact that they were in for another sleep in.

But before they could do that, they had something to take care of first; now that the worst was out of the way, they could continue with their business in peace. "Right, well, after all that, we can take things easy now," Mitsuru said, squeezing Yukari's shoulder in her one-armed hug, "while we're up here, we should probably take a look at what's being stored in the music player."

"We should. Let's get on it." Yu said, walking up to the large computer that flickered and beeped with complicated designs on the monitor. Transitioning from a group panic attack to a slow and steady process of getting information out of a music player felt quite blissful for the team; it was like winning a competition which they felt unbelievably scared about beforehand. It was very good news having Yukari stay with them, but now they had to focus on the hidden storage of the music player, and Yu was determined as anyone else in the room to find whatever might be on there.

He looked up at the many graphs and charts on that shone in neon-green colours on the screen, looking at its components like he was witnessing the most intelligent supercomputer known to man; he knew that uploading from the music player would be no problem at all. He took the wire and placed one end of the connector into a computer socket and sticking the other end into the music player. At that moment, however, nothing popped up on the screen. The music player was still out of battery and the wire was the only way they could recharge it again and find out what's inside it.

"Erm... not to be rude or anything..." Ken explained himself before moving onto what he wanted to say, "... but wouldn't the music player just have music on there? It's just that I thought that was all a music player could do." Everyone understood what Ken was saying; the music player was called by that name for one reason and one reason only, so it wouldn't have made a lot of sense for it to have any other function. But there were two reasons why they had to check. One of the reasons was because it was suspiciously in the possession of a thug who came across it when he found his unconscious friend's body, and Aigis knew the other reason. "No. I remember this particular brand of music player having a recording feature on there as well. Whenever you use it, it creates an audio file you can listen to later and upload onto a computer." she explained in detail.

"Yeah... plus it already seems highly suspect that Minato's music player was planted on another body when the only reason it could've gotten there is the first place would be that someone, the culprits, would've stolen it," Akihiko recapped with his detective mind at work, "going by that theory, there had to be a reason why they would've taken it and planted it on the body. The obvious reason would've been that they are playing a game by a criminal's rules, and maybe something on this music player will give us another reason as well." To Ken, it was quite a bit to sink in, but when he thought on it, he nodded in agreement.

Eventually, a bleeping tone was heard from the music player, followed by a bright clear picture of its screen. There was a little icon in pastel blue colours that showed the shape of a battery and inside the outline, there were small rectangular bars ranging from one to five which determined how full the battery was; because all of the bars were flashing though, that was the sign that said that it was still a long way away from getting to full charge. However, they could now access the storage, and the moment they've been waiting for was drawing near.

"All right..." Yu said, looking at the control panel to find what keys to press. But just as he looked down, all he could just see in front of him was buttons. Buttons, buttons and more buttons, all of which he didn't know what were for. He was just hoping for the usual qwerty keyboard, but instead the control panel was like something anyone could find in a space station; there were at least four sets of keyboards as well as four smaller computers attached to them. And it was safe to say that Yu just had no clue of what to do.

"Don't worry, Yu, I know what to do." Fuuka said from behind, walking up to the control panel sitting down on the nearby office chair. It was somewhat odd at first, but many of the people from S.E.E.S knew that Fuuka was very experienced with computer technology; Juno, her Persona, was proof of that as well as her family heritage.

Fuuka immediately went to work, pressing all the right buttons in the right consecutive order like she knew the mothership controls like the back of her hand. As she was typing and clicking, bleeping and chirping sounds were coming from all around the room due to the speaker system that was built into the computer, and as this happened, a window filled with codes and complex sequences propped up on the screen. The list of seemingly endless algebraic numbers scrolled through at high speeds, granting Fuuka permission to access the music player throughout the whole way. Everyone was impressed by how Fuuka can understand such things that made no sense to them whatsoever; but because of the circumstances that made her get into computing, she was a wizard and a hacker at heart, and everyone felt very lucky to have her.

Then, in only a matter of seconds, the screen suddenly presented the group with a window that contained another list. But instead of a mess of numbers and letters, the list consisted of the items that were on the memory storage of the music player; there was only one thing on that list, however, but again, it was somewhat suspicious. "There!" Fuuka said, sighing out of the effort that she put into getting this one list up, "We're in... but there's only one thing on there; not including any songs that Minato may have had. And by the coding, it looks like an audio file."

"Nice work, Fuuka," Yu praised, walking up to the side of Fuuka's office chair and putting a hand on it, leaning forward in anticipation for what might be revealed to them, "can you access it?" And as soon as Yu asked, Fuuka moved the computer cursor over the name of the audio file and double-clicked the mouse, bringing up another window with a small loading screen.

At this point, everyone was either leaning forwards or huddling round the control panel with interest, opening their ears to what might be stored in that one audio file that sat suspiciously in an empty list. When everyone looked closely at the properties of the item though, they could just see a date at the far end of the screen; this date showed when this particular audio file was created, and going by the day, month and year it was created in, the date was very recent. Almost a week ago.

This only aroused more suspicion, and when most of the group noticed it, they were just about ready to share it with the group. But just when it was on the tip of their tongues, the loading screen suddenly widened into a full screen mode with a few options at the bottom; there was a stop option, a pause, a rewind, fast-forward, but the one they wanted was the 'Play' option.

"Well... here we go..." Yosuke said, feeling somewhat nervous. But as a matter of fact, everyone else were feeling the same, and they didn't know why; everything about this one audio file felt somewhat ominous to the group, especially when all factors of it being the culprits' doing were all there, and playing whatever was on that audio file could've had anything inside. So much as clicking the 'Play' button could bring about literally any possibility.

All they needed to do now was to play it and listen to it. But instead of doing it right away, there was a reluctancy in doing so, and hesitation completely stopped them from clicking one single button. The reminded themselves that this singular audio file from Minato's music player that ended up on a body that had its clothes removed from him, came from the culprits; there would've been no other reason for it. And because it came from the culprits, the integrity of the information was somewhat tricky to determine. In their minds, it could go two ways; either this audio file was a petty reward for their efforts, or it was simply a dud that the culprits would think that it was funny to do. However, in spite of it all, they had to know.

Yu lowered his head with a deep sigh before gathering the will in himself to move this process forward. "Fuuka," he uttered to Fuuka, pausing for a moment to rid himself of procrastination, "play it." Responding to his order, Fuuka slowly reached over to the computer mouse and dragged the cursor until it was hovering over the 'Play' button. Then, with a hesitant finger, she clicked it and quickly drew her hand away in fear of what might happen.

Then, unexpectedly, the screen suddenly became distorted with screeching noises of struggling data, followed by blinks and flickers of the picture that became more violent with every flash of black and white that filled the computer to the brim. Everyone was startled by this, and witnessing all of this happen was everything they were worried about, watching as the colours and diagrams get stretched from angle to angle as the computer struggled to cope with the corruption it was suffering.

"Argh, no!" Akihiko cried out before turning his head urgently towards Fuuka, "Fuuka, what's happening?!" But as he was asking this, Fuuka was desperately pressing buttons upon buttons worth of coding to try and fix the problem that was causing all of this to happen. No matter how much she tried to alleviate the predicament, nothing was happening, and the mayhem that was erupting on the screen with regurgitating static booms continued to damage the computer. "The audio file must've bugged the computer! But what I don't understand is that this computer should withstand any malware that interferes with it! I can't stop it though!" Fuuka tried to shout over the amount of noise the violent bug was making on the monitors.

"A virus?!" Aigis then cried out in panic, understand as well as anyone from S.E.E.S that this computer should've been able to cope with this amount of damage. In fact, no one at all was expecting this to happen at all in the first place. Even though the computer was crying out for repair, Fuuka's efforts were completely futile, and she was the only one out of the whole team who was a true expert with computers, even if they were in perfect condition or utterly rigged with bugs. This computer, however, although it would've been considered one of the Kirijo Group's most powerful computers, was nearly to the brink; in fact, because of the state it was in, it was as good un unrepairable.

Then all of a sudden, the computer made one final scream and buzz before finally shutting down into a blank screen. All of the organised graphs, charts and lists, along with the hum of life from all of its components were completely wiped out; when this happened, everyone then knew that the culprits wanted this, and even thinking on it now, it was an obvious consequence to face. Fuuka couldn't do any more than frantically press the power button multiple times in the hope that the computer would miraculously come back to life. But after so many attempts, they all failed. The supercomputer, which was one of the many intrinsic pieces of equipment S.E.E.S used to gather intel and find information, was dead. Nothing more could've been done to fix it, and judging by the amount of havoc they saw on the screen, there were thoughts that even the most skilled computer engineer wouldn't be able to do something about it.

But it only seemed that way.

Suddenly, a voice boomed from the now-live speaker system that greatly startled the team. It was completely out of the blue and totally unexpected. But what's more, the voice was unexpected as well; it was the voice of someone they never knew they'd get to hear again. And knowing that he was speaking here and now made matters devastatingly worse.

_"_This is no ordinary dream. We both dreamt this." __ushered the mystery voice,__"...the bond that we shared so greatly with each other is still there. Our bond forged this dream."__

And it was then that S.E.E.S reacted to this voice with expressions that made them seem like they just experienced a heart-attack. When the Investigation Team saw this, they were worryingly confused as to why they would respond to a few sentences like that. But they then darted their eyes over to Yukari, who donned the shock greater than the rest.

__"I'm still trapped inside this Seal, but the only thing keeping me going is you. You are the reason why I've developed this strength to protect the world." __the voice spoke again, and this time left no room for doubt for the Investigation Team, who now realised the weight of the situation.

_"No..." _Yu thought to himself, fearful and scared as everyone else was,_ "... that can't be... it's not..." _But it was, and he knew it too well.

"M... Minato?!" Yukari cried out to the dead computer, "M-Minato is that you?!" That was when everyone knew what the culprits' intentions were. They couldn't allow Yukari not to have been a victim of the Midnight Channel for two nights running; they needed her Shadow and at this point, even though they weren't present at the time, they were on the verge of becoming successful in doing so. Yu remembered what Yukari told him about her dream before, and being provided by Minato's voice with explicit details, Yu could make it clear in his mind that these were the words Minato spoke in the dream.

Everyone knew they had to stop this, and it had to be done now. "Yukari, no! That's not Minato!" Mitsuru shouted to Yukari, running in front of her so that she could get a look of her face. She tried to look into her eyes, but every time she attempted to get into her line of sight, Yukari only seemed like she was daydreaming. However, Mitsuru could see the tears that were building up in her eye ducts. "Yukari, this is just what the culprits wanted! You have to be strong!" she yelled to her again, but to no avail. Yukari just continued to gaze into outer-space, letting the tears drop from her eyelashes in an uncontrollable stream. At this point, everyone huddled around her saying the same words Mitsuru did; no matter how much they tried though, Yukari didn't seem like she was listening. That could only mean bad news. Very bad news.

To make matters go from worse to worse, the computer suddenly buzzed and sizzled with static before revealing that familiar fuzzy green screen that made everyone hopeful that the audio file had ended. But when they turned round to the screen, they immediately found two things which were ultimately the last things they wanted to see; the sickening greenness of the Midnight Channel, and a dark silhouette smack bang in the middle of it. However, the silhouette wasn't really a silhouette. It was a perfect, crystal clear picture of the person being broadcasted on it. Everyone had forgotten that the Dark Hour still gave an hour of time to the Midnight Channel, and when this person came up, all hope immediately diminished from the group.

There was no surprise of who this person would be; the person was a male, he donned the Gekkoukan uniform, and even though it merged with the shade of dark green, his long-fringed hair was of a dark blue colour. He had his hands in his pockets and everyone could only see one of his eyes due to the other being hidden behind his fringe. He didn't even need to be named, because everyone knew who it was.

It was Minato Arisato.

_"___Yukari, all will be explained once you are out of here. I promise you...the pain will go once you open your eyes!"__ said the ghost-like Minato, speaking another one of his quotes from Yukari's dream. The Minato on the screen looked so innocent, and he even expressed sadness and melancholy in his words. No one was buying it though; no one except for Yukari, who suddenly pushed everyone out of the way so that she could get a better view of the alive Minato who was standing on the screen right in front of her.

"Minato!" Yukari yelled with her hand extended outwards, as if she was offering a hand to him so that she could feel the touch of his skin once more. But as she did this and failed to feel a thing, she instantly collapsed to her knees, sobbing and weeping into the control panel while still calling out his name. Just watching Yukari cry her hardest was a truly upsetting sight to see, but it was also a sight that told the team that she had been manipulated, clearly to point where she is at her most vulnerable to believe that she could still be with Minato.

Knowing this the group had to intervene. "Guys, quick!" Yu shouted in command, running with everyone towards her; the gap between them was fairly large and Yu knew very well what would happen if they left this gap open for too long. But before anyone could remember, it happened.

Suddenly, a figure in images of fuzzy static appeared from in front of them and gave a swift swing of what looked like a short-sword towards them. Immediately seeing this, Yu halted in his tracks and extended his arms out to his sides jumping back so that he could push himself and everyone's else out of the line of assault. It could only be one of the culprits, but this time, instead of the trench-coat, it was the hood and he was fully kitted out so that everything would be sure to go to plan. All everyone could do was just stare down the hood whilst standing unarmed, concerned for what will happen next.

"Oh no you don't," the boy said with a mocking tone, flourishing Minato's blade at the group, "you all have survived this game for far too long now. I think it's about time we brought in the big guns, don't you?" Just hearing his voice and watching him stand above them was just sickening to them; holding a weapon up to unarmed people was perceived to them as a very cowardly thing to do, and even though they wanted to point that out to him, they had other important things to focus on. By important, they mean urgent, and by urgent they mean dangerous. Yu was the first to have his say. "I swear... if you put Yukari into the TV world... I'll..."

"You'll what? Slap me?" the boy courageously said in his evil tone, pointing the blade towards Yu's face. If they weren't enemies towards this culprit, they probably would've found that remark quite funny, but Yu did want to chuckle a bit, mainly because he had a weapon of his own.

He then reached into his jacket and pulled his katana out from the inside coat lining, pointing it in the same fashion as the boy was. "I don't usually say this to criminals..." Yu spoke again, but more furiously, "... but I swear, if you put Yukari into the TV world... I might just kill you..." As soon as he said it, he knew that he couldn't take it back; everyone was, in fact, quite shocked for him to say that, and he even surprised himself for saying it. But that was truly what he felt and everyone honestly felt the same way. This was the first time their morals had been tested in this way; it was like choosing between what they wanted and what was right, and it wasn't a comfortable decision.

In response to Yu's attempt at a death threat, the hood just belted out a laugh of derogatory, almost to the point where he was in stitches. "Hahaha! Are you for real?! Man, that's a bit dark for you..." he said with a chuckle and a snigger, "Honestly, that's not a good look for you... best just to stick to your moral code, eh?" Yu always found his witty remarks to be an annoyance or even frustrating, but he was also right; Yu wasn't the kind of guy to say things like that, and even if he did, he wouldn't have meant it. This was one of those times, but he had to stand his ground for the sake of Yukari. "Don't think I won't..." Yu said hesitantly.

The hood just grinned at Yu's efforts to look like a killer. He knew Yu well enough to know that he didn't have to guts to do it, which he found was always expectant of a nice guy like him. But even though he knew this, he felt the need to twist Yu's arm just a little more, and to do that, he wanted to give him a test; a test of morality, to see if he was even able to use that katana as a murder weapon.

"Hmph... all right then, tough guy..." the boy said with a dismissive tone, turning his head round to the broken-down Yukari who still buried her weeping face in her arms, "... so you would kill me, if I did this...?" Yu didn't need to be told why the culprit was looking towards Yukari like that. But even so, he put himself into a very difficult situation; he wanted the boy to suffer in every way, but the one thing he couldn't bring himself to do was to commit murder.

However, if he didn't do something, Yukari would have to face the consequences. Yu's options were very limited though; the culprit was a skilled fighter, and Yu could remember that from their last brawl with each other in the TV world. So even if he wanted to swing his katana at that moment, anything could've happened. Anything, except managing to land a hit on him, because Yu had tried to in the past, and all of his attempts failed.

"Yukari..." the boy called to Yukari with an unusually serious voice, "... it's been two years, hasn't it? Two years since you lost your blue-haired hero... well what if I told you that he is actually just right there in front of you?"

"Hey! Quit it, bastard! Or so help me...!" Kanji yelled furiously at the hood, clenching his fists with his nails digging into his palms until his skin when white. But upon hearing his threat, the boy just brushed it off, like Kanji was the least of his worries. But after Kanji had his say, there were more things to worry about; up until that moment, Yukari had been continuously sobbing into the control panel, and everyone could hear her call Minato's name. But then, after the boy had ushered only a few words to her, her weeps suddenly stopped. All that was left was silence, and it was unbearably discomforting, especially when Yukari could stop her tears in only a split second after hearing the culprit's rubbish. Things, however, grew even more critical.

Yukari's head lifted up slowly and turned round to face the boy. But upon doing so, everyone's worst fear were realised; the pupils in her eyes, along with the white membrane turned into a cloudy, light-green colour, and the tears that streamed down her face made her appearance seem all the more ghastly. Everyone could remember that those eyes were the sign of captivity. They were indicators that Yukari had become induced by the culprit's control. "You can see him again, Yukari..." the boy muttered to her again, "... you can finally take back the time that you lost with him. All you need to do is enter the TV world, and your wish shall be granted to you."

"Yukari! Don't listen to him!" Yu shouted to her, hoping that the trance would wear off if he yelled loud enough. But no matter how much he tried, Yukari made no response to his call and instead took in the voice of the hood. "Compose yourself, Yukari!" Mitsuru then called out to her, stepping forwards to join Yu's side, "Please listen to us! You know well that he's trying to deceive you! If you go in there, you'll live with a desire that still won't fill the void!" But Yukari continued to stare at the boy in that zombified way. It was like all life and vitality from her had been snatched away in only a matter of mere seconds; her face was red from the soreness of her sadness, and the tears that were smeared over her cheeks contrasted a lot with her plain, neutral look with eyes that constantly fixated themselves on the criminal who was about to put her into the TV world.

Though, after a pause of no movement whatsoever, Yukari's head slowly turned back round to her lover's false entity, staring up at him with eyes of affection and melancholy. "No...! Don't do this...!" Fuuka begged the hood, clasping her hands together and shaking them as she pleaded. But the boy just sniggered as everything unfolded to his liking, and judging by the grin that came into the light, they knew that he wasn't going to show any mercy. "Well, you'd have to kill me first, right Yu?" the boy replied with a cocky attitude, which only angered Yu more.

Yu's arm began to ache after having to hold the weapon up for so long, but he didn't want to lower his katana any time soon; he had to remain cautious about the difference between right and wrong. He was a firm believer that killing any human being is utterly wrong, but the problem that he faced was that his belief conflicted with the thought of defeating the greater evil.

But as he thought of this, he needed to act quick on what he wanted to do. Yukari slowly stood up from her knelt position while still keeping her eyes on Minato. Then steadily, she began to climb onto the control panel, using her fragile knees as leverage. This shocked everyone who was witnessing this; all except for the hood who just chuckled as Yukari was heading for the computer screen.

This was it. Yukari was about to enter the TV world.

"Yukari, NO!" Yu cried out, feeling the weight of his morality fall heavy on his shoulders. And it was then that Yu had made a decision; with a swift swing of his katana, he clashed the sword with the hood's, using every bit of muscle power to push the weapon out of his face. As an advantage, the culprit didn't see any of this coming, and when Yu made that powerful swing, Minato's blade was immediately knocked out of the boy's grasp, which opened a window of opportunity to Yu. Taking a chance, Yu then pushed the boy out of the way with one hand and immediately rushed towards the tranced Yukari with everyone following suit. "Yukari, wait! Don't go in there!" Rise yelled to her as they ran.

It was only a short distance, but everyone had to sprint, because Yukari had already plunged her hand through the computer screen. Then, once she made contact with the TV world, the rest of her body was being pulled in against her own will, even though there was no will left in her to refrain herself from her own desire. First it was her hand, then her arm, her head, then her waist, and all that was left were her legs. The Midnight Channel was engulfing her at a rapid rate.

But before her feet could get sucked into the screen, Yu instantly reacted and leapt forwards, grabbing Yukari's ankle with one hand whilst crashing his ribs against the control panel in doing so. "All right, come on, Yukari..." he said to himself as he tried to get back up to his feet. Once he did though, the tug-of-war between the TV world and the team began; the collective group of S.E.E.S and the Investigation Team worked in unity to try and get Yukari out of danger, but due to the force of the TV world's grasp, this was no easy feat.

As Yu tugged on Yukari's ankle, everyone else tugged Yu, contributing to each other's strength in the hope that they would be successful. And after all of their efforts so far, they managed to pull Yukari out bit by bit, almost to the point when her waist was showing; all they needed to do was to keep at this level of power and she would be out in no time. That was until the hood suddenly found his opportunity to stop it.

Standing casually at the side of Yu, the boy held Minato's blade above him, gathering the strength in his arm in preparation for a vertical swing; though a basic move, it was the perfect move that could potentially behead Yu if he didn't let go of Yukari, or anyone for that matter. Everyone was holding onto one another and Yu was holding onto Yukari. Once the boy makes his move, no one could do anything about it. Before Yu could know it though, the hood sent the sword hurtling down towards his head, swinging at such speed that not even a blink of an eye would allow the sight of the attack.

But just before the tip of the sword could reach his cranium, Yu was immediately pulled away by the sheer strength of the team behind him so that he could evade the attack. Fortunately he did. But it came at the cost of losing grip on Yukari's ankle. As each of them landed back first on the floor, they could hear the sound of the boy's blade crashing against the control panel, leaving a few sparks and a broken monitor in the process. But that was the least of everyone's worries.

They all sat up to look at the computer screen, and immediately they saw no sign of Yukari anywhere; there was only one place, however, where she would've gone, but they didn't want to believe it. And so the boy just looked down at the group in victory with the blade resting on his shoulder with a confident and arrogant attitude; the sight of Minato on the Midnight Channel didn't help either.

"You're not a killer, Yu..." the hood said with contempt, "... you're too weak for that." And with one final grin of scorn, the boy disappeared into static, buzzing and flickering until the solid matter of his body had completely vanished from view. All that was left was the spirited Minato on the computer screen, still standing in melancholy on the Midnight Channel; everyone could only look up to it, like they were witnessing a ghost from two years ago. Of course, for S.E.E.S, that was the case, but to the Investigation Team, it was like looking up at a higher being.

The Minato on the screen just closed his eyes and lowered his head, showing an expression of guilt. _"I have my regrets..." _Minato mumbled before disappearing from the screen, along with the Midnight Channel.

At last, the chaos was over, but the problems had only just begun. Yukari was lured into the TV world, and because she had suffered more than anyone in the room, the expectations of a life-threatening battle ahead was very high; no one wanted to believe what just happened. But they knew somehow that Yukari had to be a potential target, and on this night, the victimisation this time around was much more crueler and more heartbreaking then all others.

Sitting up in defeat, Yu could only lower his head in failure, using a clenched fist to slam it on the floor multiple times; he felt fully responsible for what happened that night, and the only one he felt angry towards was himself. He was one of the people who really looked after Yukari in her time of need, and he was there to pick her back up when she was down. But now that she has become a victim to the TV world, there was somewhere inside of him that told him that all of his efforts were for nothing.

"Yu?" asked Rise as she came to his side, holding his shoulders to comfort him. Yu couldn't help but feel dispirited by how much he felt he could've done to prevent Yukari's kidnapping. But Rise looked into his eyes as if she was telling him to stop beating himself up. He knew he could've done better, but he also knew that he tried his best, only to find that it wasn't enough.

Everyone else felt the same way, but when they looked to Yu, they looked to one another with looks that suggested that they shouldn't give up; hope was a much needed thing, and what's more, they needed it from their leader. Of course, it was evident to them that Yu was not in the best of spirits, but they knew that he always had a solution to the problem. And fortunately for them, this was still the case.

Taking a deep breath and fixing his resolution, Yu picked himself up, receiving help from Rise for extra aid. He then looked to the dead computer screen, imagining that the Midnight Channel was still broadcasting. And then with a squeeze of his katana handle, he turned his body round to face everyone. "I don't know how to say this... but..." Yu said, still trying to recover from the shock, "... there's no doubt that this fight will be very difficult. And when I mean difficult, I mean difficult. Now, this fight will pose a bigger threat to our lives than all others have. But we need to save Yukari, no matter what the end result is to this battle."

Everyone nodded in understanding to Yu's words, trying to build some much-needed confidence in themselves. Yu could understand what they were feeling though; he wasn't on top form either, but like he said, they had to rescue Yukari, even if it meant injury or death. "All right... let's get ready..." Yu spoke again, forcing some enthusiasm in his tone, "... we won't let these culprits win."

**Whahey! I managed to get a chapter out! Nice! So guys, even though I did manage to publish a chapter while in University, that might not necessarily mean that I'm able to write a lot of the time – in other words, the next chapter after this one might do either of three things: it might be published while I'm in University, but might take a little time. It might be published at Christmas time. Or it might not be published until after three or four years. But let's see how it goes eh? Sorry I had to leave you with such a huge cliffhanger, but I hope you do look forward to future chapters! Keep reading and reviewing, and I'll see you all later! CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Rise: W-We found her! But..._

_Yukiko: But... what?_

_Rise: It's her Shadow... Her Shadow is there as well..._

_Teddie: Yukari-chan... no..._

_Yu: You've got to fight it though, Yukari. You're stronger than this, I know it..._

_Shadow Yukari: Lies! Lies! IT'S ALL LIES!_


	42. The Shackled Banshee

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Forty-Two_

_The Shackled Banshee_

**Good day to you all, and welcome to the FORTY-SECOND chapter of the story! Hopefully I'll be able to get this chapter out while I'm still in University, 'cause I've been craving for some writing lately, and to get this done here and now would make a very happy man! Before we begin, however, I now have a Wiki page for Persona: World And Judgement! So if you want to go there, if you want to, there's a link on my profile. All answers will lie on the wiki page, but for now, LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0810 – Dark Hour – Mitsuru's Room_

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><p>Hope had now become a far-fetched thing. Faith began to diminish, and all that remained was just that little bit of motivation to discipline them. With Yukari now in the TV, nothing was left to speculation anymore; everyone knew that there was bound to be a Shadow and they all knew that her two-year suffering will imminently bring about the hardest battle they will have to face. Dwelling on these discouraging thoughts had created a silence between the group, and not one person spoke for the whole time they were preparing; even when they were entering the TV world to find a path to Yukari, not one word was said. Worry was the only thing they could feel; they were worried, scared, frightened and they even felt weak to resolve the situation at times. It was like their group suddenly fell apart, all in a short space of a few seconds.<p>

After gathering their essentials, everyone was stood in front of Mitsuru's TV, staring into its blankness with detestable looks. Just looking at it made their stomachs churn to the point when they were starting to become sick; they tried to compose themselves, but no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't shake the awful feeling that continued to grow. The silence didn't help the situation either, and neither did the Dark Hour's ominous green glow that emanated through the windows. Yu, who was stood in front of the TV with everyone else standing behind him, inhaled slowly through his nose and, with a pause, exhaled to relieve himself of the negative thinking that scattered his mind into chaos; however, it did not work.

He turned his head round to the team, slipping his glasses on with a shaky hand. "Well... you guys ready?" he asked with hesitation. The answers, however, came much later and Yu could understand why. Even he wasn't ready for this battle, and he knew as well as anyone in the room that Yukari's desire and suffering would be the best fuel for a Shadow. It was clear as anything that the conflict between them and her Shadow was imminent, but it wasn't something they could avoid, and so the predicament was frowned upon more and more. Yu sighed in empathy with the group. "... Yeah... I know..." he said as he turned his head back round to the TV, "... well... here goes nothing..."

"Marie, remember to take care of Nanako while we're gone." Yukiko reminded Marie, who stood nervously waiting for the group to dive into the TV world. With a worrisome nod of her head, Marie agreed to keep Nanako safe; she desperately wanted to go in with the group, but knowing that she had no fighting capabilities whatsoever, she had to make do with holding the fort. Though, she could only look at Yu with saddened eyes, painfully hoping that he would come out of it unscathed.

Eventually though, taking one last moment to compose himself, Yu took up his katana and placed one foot into the TV screen. Then, placing a hand on the frame, he proceeded to follow through with the other foot, slipping the rest of his body into the TV world like he was launching himself into a flume. But even entering the distorted corridor of illusionary shapes and colours, the adrenaline feeling he would usually find swirling around his stomach while falling into the rabbit hole just wasn't there anymore; in fact, to him, it was the least of his worries, and he could say the same for the rest of his cohorts as well.

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><p><em>0810 – Dark Hour – The TV World_

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><p>Soon enough, Yu was spat out the other end of the corridor, landing on his feet and immediately walking towards the edge of the platform in an attempt to look at least a few feet in front of him; but due to the fog's unnatural thickness, he struggled to find any landscape in sight. He even struggled to see his own feet, and he had his glasses on. Eventually, everyone else made their rendezvous with him and got to work straight away.<p>

"Alright. Rise, Fuuka," Akihiko said to the girls, catching their attention, "do your thing. And quick." And without any hesitation or questions asked, Rise and Fuuka stepped away from the group and swiftly summoned their Personas. Because the situation was so dire, they really needed to push themselves; Yukari was out there somewhere, and her life was in utter jeopardy. The only thing that was putting them off was the vastness of the TV world, and even though they were working with each other to boost their chances, the mass of what they were working with couldn't even compare to the never-ending landscape of the world in front of them.

But strangely, and somewhat ominously, the two almost immediately found her and pin-pointed her into their mental maps. "W-We found her!" Rise called to the group, suddenly feeling a huge surge of confidence in herself that almost made her think that they could potentially rescue her from the culprits trap. But when she looked closer at her find, immediately, bad news followed. Suddenly, her confidence faded in an instant, and all the while, she couldn't bring herself to tell the group of the misfortune. "But..." she muttered, hesitating to speak.

"But... what?" Yukiko asked, slowly losing hope just by looking at Rise's expression. But instead of Rise, Fuuka told them having had come to the same conclusion. "It's her Shadow... her Shadow is there as well..." It was just as they feared and more. Even though it was all purely anticipated, just hearing Fuuka saying it gave everyone that sinking feeling; their hearts jolted with an uncomfortable shock, and they gulped down the news like it had an unpleasant taste to it. But that was what it was. Unpleasant.

"Alright, where is she guys?" Yu asked of the tactical support duo, sternly and with all matter of seriousness written across his face. He was just as afraid as everyone else was, and the fear that injected into his body made him somewhat impatient. Soon enough though, Yu received his answer. "It's..." Fuuka said hesitantly, holding a finger out in front of her like she was acting like a compass, and immediately pointing vigorously in the one direction which she was confident in, "... that way! She's at that beach area from before!"

"Alright! Everyone, prepare yourselves! Let's go!" Yu ordered the group in a stern tone of leadership, immediately making his way off the platform in a sprint. Everyone else frantically followed suit; some struggled to keep up and some couldn't even keep up with the ones who were struggling. And by the time they were halfway across the path to the beach area they came across before, they were all already out of breath. Despite this though, they didn't slow down or stop; they only soldiered on, desperately gasping for breath as they ran.

Yu was way ahead of everyone, and he showed no sign of letting the others catch up to him; the very thing that motivated him was the unshakable feeling inside him that the worst was going to happen, and the more he sprinted the more he thought of how much of the situation he and the rest of the group could solve. He didn't need Rise or Fuuka to show him the way, for he already had the mental map to go forward; but as a result, he was leaving everyone in the dust, enlarging the gap between him and others bit by bit the more he sprinted.

Soon enough though, Yu began to feel a soft texture under the soles of his shoes, hearing the small crunches with every step. Eventually, he stopped to look down to his feet and immediately saw the unspoiled sand that he and the gang had come across before when they conducted an operation to rescue Aigis. The sand was smooth and bright, almost to the point where it looked like snow; but the green skies plagued its colour with its reflection of murk and dullness, setting a most unnerving atmosphere for what else was in front of Yu.

After a short while, everyone else eventually caught up and gazed upon the landscape Yu was witnessing. S.E.E.S could remember how this place looked, and the Investigation Team could only imagine how beautiful it must've looked outside the TV. But because this was in the TV world, two worlds had once again collided; the sand spanned a distance way beyond what the human eye could see, and the ocean that sat calmly beside it was vast and deep. It's colour wasn't that of the usual blue, nor was it of the Midnight Channel green. Instead, a dark-purple, ink-like colour made up the waters of the sea. No one could see through the water like they could with normal oceans; it was greasy, horrible, and it stained the sand as it made contact with it. Like all other dungeons they've seen in the TV world, this place stuck in everyone's minds as an image of hell.

"This is the place?" Yosuke asked, double-checking his surroundings to match the description Fuuka gave before.

"Yeah... she's somewhere around here..." Rise answered, somewhat intimidated by the landscape of the beach. In fact, everyone was slightly shaken by how everything looked. The TV world had the effect to make people feel this way when they saw the ordinary area turned into a twisted, darker version of itself. But this location was the most chilling, knowing that this was Yukari's own mental projection of her desires.

Fuuka stepped forward and stood next to Yu, holding her own hands under her chin with a fearful expression on her face. "... how did I know she would be here...?" she asked herself rhetorically, instantly catching Yu's attention. At first, he was quite shocked to hear her say that, but after a while, he put the pieces together and finally realised what she was saying. "The beach..." Yu said to her, "... did something happen here that was of significance to Yukari?"

"Yes..." Fuuka replied with reluctance, trying to recollect the thoughts of a particular event. There was an uncomfortable silence in the air, but after a long while of composing her words, Fuuka opened her lips. "... this is the Yakushima beach... where Yukari first had feelings for Minato... she told me about it." Yu guessed as much, and it even made him somewhat sad to see Yukari's feelings, thoughts and desires all in one place; the place where Yukari had found her happiness with Minato. But it had now become a dungeon, and the beautiful paradise that it once was, was now imitated as a hellish bowel of the TV world.

"Yeah..." Junpei spoke out of the silence, rubbing an eye in exhaustion, "... I remember seeing them together. 'Course, I knew Yukari didn't want me to know about it." Hearing this from Junpei, everyone could imagine his luck then, and his expression upon seeing the two together. But all anyone could muster was a sad chuckle, feeling a odd mixture of humour and depression. "Haha... and you never told us about it, Junpei?" Ken asked with a smile, albeit forced.

"Well you know what Yuka-tan's sometimes like..." Junpei replied with a sigh of diminishing spirit, turning to the Investigation Team afterwards to tell the story, "... but... well, it was after we watched some footage of the incident that happen twelve years ago... it was fake and doctored by that Ikutsuki, and it showed Yukari's dad in a bad light... so she stormed off, and Minato went after her..." Re-telling the story made Junpei feel like it wasn't even a few minutes ago since that event happened, and even so, he started to feel sad, not just for Yukari but for Minato as well. As S.E.E.S remembered it as well, they felt the same way and decided to listen to more of Junpei's tale.

"... after a while we noticed that they were gone for a long time so I offered to go find them. And when I found them... I found them here, hugging. If you ask me, if I hadn't jumped in, they probably could've been there all night..." Junpei said, in the most poetic way he could put it. It was very unlike him to speak of Yukari that way, let alone even speak in that way at all; S.E.E.S hadn't seen him express himself in this way since Chidori's passing and before the battle with Nyx. But he meant every word, and his thoughts were believed by everyone. In fact, no one could've put it better. And to hear such a beautiful moment within the belly of the TV world made it all the more heartbreaking.

No one could understand if it was either the effect of the dungeon or if it was what they truly felt towards the love and tragedy that impacted upon Yukari's teenaged life. But they knew that the only way they could resolve this was to bring Yukari back to the surface. And maybe even back to her senses. "Guys..." Kanji called to everyone from the quiet with a sigh, "... I know we're all feeling pretty very shitty about this right now... but this isn't going to help her..." And in that moment, another strange moment had happened; Kanji was beginning to speak like Junpei, and he even thought about his words long and hard.

It was then that everyone realised what Kanji was trying to say; everyone cared for Yukari so much that even the normality of rescuing their peers from the TV world was becoming a huge strain of distraught on their wellbeing. And for even Kanji to care so much, his point stood strong. Taking his unusual words of wisdom, everyone nodded to him and looked to one another in approval. "Kanji's right..." Yu said to the group, "... the sooner we find her, the sooner we can resolve this. She can't be too hard to find either."

And with that, everyone began to make their way across the beach, following Yu in the hopes of finding the missing Yukari soon. But just as they turned round to face the landscape, they were presented with a vast amount of ground to cover; a sight which nearly put everyone off the operation. They knew, however, that there were no other options available to them and that the only way was to scout around the whole area, even if it killed them.

But then, just as they made their first step to Yukari's rescue, they immediately heard a faint noise coming from further up the beach; but the sound was so vague and distant that no one could make out what it was. As they looked down the beach, they couldn't see anything of significance that could make such a noise, until they saw a small sand dune which obscured some of the scenery away from sight. After a while of listening to the sound, there was no sign of it stopping; it was just a continuous echo.

"Hmm..." Yu hummed to himself, turning to the others in the hope that he wasn't the only one hearing the noise. Judging by their expressions though, he knew that he wasn't going insane, and immediately urged everyone follow the sound with him. "C'mon. Let's go." he ordered, taking his first nervous steps towards the source of the noise.

As they walked, the sound of the crunching under their feet somewhat obscured the sound they were trying to track down, and its echoes seem to flow around the whole area, which disorientated everyone slightly; they would walk the wrong way, or look behind them from time to time when they heard it further down the beach. But this slight confusion only lasted for a while, because the sound began to become louder, and as they listen closer, they were immediately disheartened; Yu even had to stop in his tracks to regain his composure after hearing a good few seconds of the sound, and so did everyone else. "Oh my goodness..." Rise muttered in her cupped hands in sadness, unable to refrain herself from listening to such sad sounds.

What they heard was someone sobbing, but apart from all other weeps they've heard in their life, this one was the most heart-wrenching; it even made some of the girls tear up just listening to it. For everyone though, no one wanted to take another step because of how the sobs had impacted them on the inside. They could hear the sharp and uncontrollable gasps coming from the person crying, followed by the slight moans of pain that this person couldn't help but slip from their windpipe with every weep. There was the occassional sniffle and muffled sobs that everyone knew the person was struggling to hold back. Because every time they did, a bigger sob followed through.

Those were part of the reason why everyone stopped before the sand dune. However, the real reason, was because of their certainty of who would be shedding these tears. "Yukari..." Akihiko mumbled to himself, sighing to compose himself of the unusual overwhelming emotion that he was feeling. Everyone knew that is was Yukari on the other side of the dune, even though they haven't spotted her yet. But they had to press on. They had to face the harshness of what Yukari had been through.

With a deep breath, Yu took the next few steps forward with the group following closely behind him, and with full concentration, they climbed the dune, ready to face whatever they had to face.

They did not look forward to this whatsoever, and every step they took was a reluctant one; they felt heavy in every place of their body and the tension in their muscles made their highly uncomfortable. As they climbed up the sand, their hearts told them to go forward, but their heads told them to go back, and their inner conflicts were nothing but frustrating. But before they could resolve it, they were already on top of the dune. And the source of the noise was right there in front of them; it was just as they thought it would be.

It was Yukari.

She was sat on the wet sand by the inky-blotted sea, crouching with her knees up to her head as she hugged her legs closer to herself. She had her face buried in her arms, and the force of her sobs could be seen in the way she was breathing sharply and heavily. From afar, they could see the amount of tears she was shedding; the sleeves of her winter coat had damp patches where she had been crying, and it seemed that her eyes had not moved from their spots on the fabric ever since she first weeped into them.

Everyone found this sight to be nothing but heartbreaking; they've seen Yukari cry before, but never like this, and it was nearly tore everyone just by watching her soak her tears into her sleeves. Within the first few seconds of seeing her, they were all immediately inclined to walk up and comfort her. And that's what they did. However, they couldn't help but feel an ominous presence looming about the place; it was almost like looking at Yukari made them think of a jack-in-the-box. Quiet and normal at first, but a fright prepared on the inside. The innocent scene they were seeing went as far to make it seem deceitful.

Despite this though, they approached the broken Yukari, not with caution, but with care, taking advantage of the normality with as much hope as they could muster. It was like she was a child, crying in upset in the way little children did, and when they came right by Yukari's side, they finally realised how loud the sobs were. To call her distraught would be a huge understatement; this was an emotion none of them have ever seen before. This was depression at its worst, and it even strangely made them feel the same just listening to her.

Yu crouched down to Yukari, and the others huddled around her in a semi-circle, bending down to comfort her. "... Yukari...?" Yu called to her softly. But there was no response, and she continued to weep. "Yukari-san...?" Aigis then called out to her, almost to the point when she was about to tear up. But there was still no answer; everyone knew that she wasn't listening, and judging by her ignorance towards the group, it seemed like she was seeking solitude. Much to their surprise and relief, all was normal. There was no Shadow in sight, and even yet, there was no false entity either. When some noticed this, it seemed strange to them at first, but decided to fully concentrate their full attention on Yukari.

"Yukari..." Mitsuru then attempted to get through to Yukari, though to no avail, "... please, Yukari..." And as she called her name for the second time, she place a gentle hand on her shoulder. But all of a sudden, that was the very thing that immediately got her attention. And it was frightening.

Just as Mitsuru's hand made contact with her, Yukari's head instantly shot up and looked towards her, ceasing the sobs almost straight away. When she looked at the rest of the group, a most unholy sight was realised.

"NO! GET AWAY FROM ME!" shrieked Yukari as she quickly stood up from her seat and jumped away from the group, resonating a second tone in her voice. As she did this, everyone also jumped away in a flinch, startled and scared of what they had just heard from her. In those short few seconds, the normal had suddenly changed; the discordant atmosphere returned, and the expectations of danger was right there in front of them. "What?!" Naoto cried out, cautious as ever. But when everyone took a moment to look at what had become of Yukari, the expressions of fear slowly turned into shock. "Yukari-chan... no..." Teddie murmured in fright, recoiling with everyone else at the petrifying sight of her. In fact, everything about her at that moment was everything they were fearing on that night.

Yukari looked rough; her clothes became scruffy, and there were some ink-like stains on her coat that came from the sea. Instead of the innocent expression that she wore, her face showed anger, but ultimately there was sadness, depression and devastation, and the skin on her cheeks were red with her own tears rubbed vigorously into them. She was shaking in her hands, her legs, and everywhere else and every time she tried to control them, it only made her twitch and jolt. Her breathing was also shaken and she was still trying to hold back the overwhelming emotions that she desperately tried to bottle up inside her, and because of this, no one even dared to come near her. But the very thing which told them that they and Yukari were in grave danger were the ones that anyone would find the most horrible to see. The eyes.

Her eyes were glowing that same golden-yellow light that spelt out the very definition of life-threatening. But because the light was also reflecting and refracting off of her tears, the sight of them made Yukari look all the more deranged. But one thing was clear though; she and her Shadow had merged into one monstrosity.

"Why are you here?! Go away! LEAVE ME ALONE!" cried out Yukari again, louder than before. The sound of her voice was damaging to the ear, and her shrieks were like the kind of noise that could shatter glass; in this case, they could nearly shatter everyone's eardrums. Her voice echoed through the beach, and even her sniffling and choking could resonate in the foul air.

There were no words, just shocked expressions. No one even had the courage to answer her; her authority and frightful image was enough to freeze everyone in place. She was feared by her peers, almost to the point where they thought that they weren't seeing Yukari in front of them, nor her Shadow. They were looking at a monster. A creature influenced by her desires that tore her apart.

With a shaky intake of breath and a sudden unimaginable amount of courage, Yu slowly walked towards her, holding out a hand to her in gentleness and caution. "Yukari... you can shout at us all you want... but we know that's not you who's shouting..." he spoke as confidently as he could to her, frightened as to what might happen if he got any closer, "... it'll be unfair to you to say that I know your pain. Because I don't; you've had it so much worse, but we know that it's tearing you to pieces. You've got to fight it though, Yukari. You're stronger than this, I know it..."

"Lies! Lies! IT'S ALL LIES!" Yukari screamed in her sobs, stepping back with a rapid foot and swinging an arm to back Yu away from her, "Those are just words! I'm not strong... you can't tell me what I am! I know who I am! Just leave me be! I just..." She then struggled to find her words, letting her weeps choke her in a way that seemed like she was being strangled. She then looked down, and collapsed to her knees cupping her broken expression into her hands. "... there nothing left for me... I just..." she spoke through her fingers, struggling to form her words through her tears, "... If I could... just to see him again... just to be with him..."

And at that moment, the atmosphere changed dramatically; the bombshell had dropped, and hearing those words coming from Yukari's own mouth was a difficult thing to swallow. Even Koromaru whimpered in fear at what had become of Yukari. Not once did she mention before of her lack of meaning, but hearing it from her Shadow just confirms it. Everyone was at a loss for words; Yukari silenced them all. They knew what she was trying to say, but no matter how hard they tried to dispel themselves of the thought of it, the truth in what the Shadow was saying about her feelings was undeniable. Yukari was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice, with a hope; a hope that she could join Minato at the Great Seal.

"No!" Aigis bravely shouted to her from behind Yu, immediately rushing to Yukari and bending down to her knees whilst holding her shoulder, "You don't mean that, Yukari! I know you!" As the group watched, they had a suspicion that Aigis was treading in dangerous territory, but she didn't care; her best friend had thoughts no one thought imaginable with Yukari, and her line of thinking posed a serious threat to her life. Even though she knew Yukari wouldn't have it, Aigis clutched onto Yukari's shoulders, not letting go until she would see the light. "We know how much you miss him, we all do... but he chose to die so that we may live. He died for you, he died for us, he died for the world. He wouldn't have wanted you to think that way! We don't want to lose another friend, especially if it's my best friend! So please, Yukari-chan! Just stop this! Stop it now! You are so much stronger than this!"

"Stop saying that!" Yukari shouted again, looking through her tears and into Aigis' android eyes, "I'm not strong! I can't be... because I don't want to forget him! But you... you all can't feel what I'm feeling now... because you've forgotten about him as well! You don't care at all! YOU JUST DON'T CARE!" Suddenly, Yukari lashed out at Aigis and pushed her away with an astounding amount of strength, causing the humanoid to fall to the ground. As everyone rushed to help her up, Aigis looked upon the monstrous Yukari in sadness and distraught. "Yukari... please..." she muttered, shocked to the core of what her best friend had just done.

"Sorry Aigis, but I don't think she's going to listen to us anytime soon..." Chie apologised as she lifted Aigis up by the shoulder. But what she said rung true; as long as Yukari's Shadow was occupying her body, the real Yukari wasn't going to comply. Help without a fight was too much out of the question now, and the only option left was the last thing they wanted to do. If she wasn't going to listen to the cries of her friends, the only way left was to get through to her with a fight.

After helping Aigis up to her feet, Yu bravely stood in front of her and drew his katana from the lining of his jacket; he couldn't find the courage to hold it up to her, but instead, held the blade low in front of him. "We do care, Yukari. But we can't let you stay here. We don't want you to die... and we won't walk away from this place until we have you back safe and sound. I didn't want to do this... but Yukari... get ready." Yu called to her, mustering as much courage as he could.

The gauntlet had been thrown down, challenging the Shadow to a fight to the death. Everyone looked at Yu as if he were mad. But knowing that there was literally no other way to resolve this, they took up their respective weapons as well, stepping forward to form a semi-circle around Yukari with their backs turned to the ink-blotted ocean. An uncomfortable silence filled the air, but then after a while of staring at one another, Yukari's body began to give off a dark aura that enveloped her and eventually engulfed her.

BGM: Unavoidable Battle – Persona 3 OST

"Why won't you leave me alone?! There's nothing for me left at the surface!" Yukari shrieked at the group, using her hands to hold her aching head in agony, "Nrrgh... Arrgggh...! AAARRRRGGGHHH!"

Suddenly, the darkness that crawled around Yukari's body instantly forced outwards into a black hurricane that whipped the green sand in everyone's faces. Hearing the wind scream in time with Yukari's long, resonating shriek made a frightful sound of dissonance to the ear; it was like listening to the screeches of a hundred voices all bellowing at once. Everyone shielded their faces away from the sand that was attacking their skin, but as they tried to get a look of what was happening in front of them, they could only see darkness creeping in towards them until they could see nothing but pitch-black, seeing it wrap around them to the point when they couldn't even see each other anymore. Along with this, they could feel that they were going to become deaf any time soon if the screams kept this up.

But then, just when they couldn't take the noise anymore, the gales, the cries and the darkness almost immediately subsided. When they all poked their faces out of their arms, they shook off the sand that sat on their coats and jackets and turned to one another in worry. "Phwhoa...! Is everyone alright?" Yu called out to everyone else in concern. Fortunately, the fearful combination of the elements didn't injure anyone. But all of that was the least of their worries.

What they were seeing in front of them, put them in a whole new lot of trouble. "Waaahhh! Sensei, look!" Teddie cried out to Yu with a shaky bear finger pointing upwards towards something that seemed to have petrified him. Before he even decided to turn around, however, Yu already knew what Teddie was pointing at, and he was even reluctant to even consider turning to look at it. But when he composed himself of negative thoughts, he finally spun round to face whatever he had to face.

And immediately, he was lost of all breath, shocked to the point where his heart felt like it was going to give way. What was in front of them all left no trace of Yukari whatsoever; instead, what they saw was nothing less of a Shadow. Yukari's Shadow.

Her appearance was ghastly; she was hovering a large distance above the sand, with a long, white, transparent cloak of velvet material that was tattered and ripped in places. This clock nearly touched the sand, but it was floating in dainty hovering patterns, as if it was moving underwater. The skin on her face was as pale as snow, and even though she stopped sobbing, there were crystallised tears that formed on her cheeks, almost as if it was ice, but her devastated expression remained. This colour of skin could only be seen on her face, however, for the rest of partially-nude body was covered in a tight, black, latex-like flesh that had golden parallel lines etched into her body, from her neck down to her bare toes. On the top her head were two black horns with a bright oval pinkish-purple jewel that fit securely into the curves of the horns, bearing a striking resemblance to Isis' horns. Around her waist were two curves metal plates which donned purple and pink feather designs; the metal curved from around her back to the front of her bare thighs. And finally, around her wrists were dirty metal cuffs that shackled Yukari to the ground beneath her; she struggled to break herself free from those chains and winced at every attempt to fly from the ground.

"I am a Shadow... the true self..." Yukari uttered those familiar words with her merged tone of human, Shadow and devastation, looking upon the group with her golden-yellow eyes, "... just please... as a friend... leave me be... if I don't wanna live, I don't wanna live! I won't let you decide my life for me!"

There was no backing out of this now; it was either do or die, and it didn't take long for the group to know that a victory or a defeat would be different between life and death, not just for Yukari but for all of them.

There was a pause between them all; no one knew who was going to make the first move, but everyone knew that the first move is always the important one. After some quick-thinking, Yu decided that they needed to get the upper hand first, and to do that, he pointed a finger towards the Shadow. "Alright. All-Out-A-" he yelled, but instantly cut off when the Shadow suddenly made her move.

Before anyone could move, or Yu could speak, Yukari rattled her chains and gave one huge yank upwards, lifting her head up to the skies and screaming at the top of her lungs. However, this scream was enough to make every one of the team drop their weapons and hold their heads in agony, feeling as if their heads were being compressed under extreme pressure. But then, what was to follow was even more unexpected.

As Yukari screeched to the high skies of hell, a green, swirling formation of enigmatic power began to erupt from the sand, and the more the Shadow cried out, the stronger the colours and the power were becoming. Everyone could feel the force of the forming tornado around Yukari tugging on them and pulling them in ever so slightly, but the force was becoming greater and greater; even the wet sand around them was being sucked into the vortex. Yu could only get a quick glimpse of what was going on, but even from that slight look, he could tell what that power was. He knew it as none other as the Panta Rhei.

"Hrngh! Wh-what?! No... No!" Yu cried out, struggling to form his words due to the pain he was undergoing. But despite his agony and everything that tried to stop him, Yu bravely took a hand away from one ear and quickly reached for his Evoker; and with a swift pull of the trigger when the cold barrel touched the side of his head, he fired away, calling out Izanagi into the battlefield.

As Izanagi emerged from the blue mist of Yu's psyche, the Persona immediately took a hold of its naginata and pointed the tip of the blade downwards, only a slight distance away from Yu's heels. As quickly as it could, Izanagi instantly crashed down into the sand and stabbed the blade into the ground, causing a shockwave that pushed everyone, except Yu, out of harms way. Everyone rag-dolled as they were sent flying to the sides, only narrowly missing the waves as they came in.

But it was only when this happened, that Yukari suddenly brought the unmatched gales of the Panta Rhei onto Yu, and because Izanagi was still out on the battlefield, he was put in grave danger. However, it was too late for him to resolve the situation.

Being weak to wind, and feeling the full brutality of the hurricane strike him in the chest, Yu and Izanagi were suddenly sent flying through the air, feeling the painful scratches of the blitzing sand on their faces as they soared through the air, unable to regain their balance. And before Yu could even know it, he felt himself landing into the ocean, feeling the thick mixture of darkness as he was submerged in the water. As Izanagi retreated back into the subconscious, Yu swam back up to the surface, gasping for breath as he rose his head above the waterline. His hair and skin were covered in an inky substance, and even getting the taste of it out of his mouth proved difficult.

"Yu! Are you alright, dude?!" Yosuke called out to his best friend lost at sea. Yu began to swim back, slightly blinded by the black substance that got in his eye. He shouted in reply, "Yeah... but don't worry about me, worry about the- bleugh!" Suddenly, something caught his foot and violently dragged him down underwater, and after being fully submerged into the ocean, he was being pulled down still. As Yu struggled to get back up to the surface, he looked down at his foot to see what was tugging on him.

A strongly linked chain was wrapped firmly around his ankle, and it was so tangled that it wasn't even possible to get off under the circumstances; but the chain seemed to be squeezing his muscles as well, and he knew in the moment of panic that it was Yukari was doing this.

Frantic and scared to lose air, Yu pushed and pushed to his limits, trying to squirm his way out of the chain's grip whilst trying to swim with a time limit back up to the surface. But the more he struggled, the deeper he was going and all was becoming hopeless; he was losing breath by the second, and the desperate attempts to break free of the shackle were only making it worse.

But then, the pressure began to press inside of Yu, and his head felt like it was going to burst the more it pushed inside of him. However, the pain of the compression was slowly subsiding, because his lungs were failing on him; what was left of his oxygen eventually left him bubble by bubble, and the lightheadedness began to take over his mind with a clouding sensation.

The seconds passed, and his struggle for freedom became calmer and calmer, until he couldn't move anymore. His eyes closed, his muscles relaxed, his chest retracted... and the last bubble left his windpipe.

**OH NO! What happened to Yu?! What will happen to everyone else?! Well, it looks like you're going to have to find out in the next chapter, which I'm hoping to get out over christmas... which is nearly here! Oh, how I do love christmas... anyway, thank you very much for your patience, guys! I know there's been a lot of hiatus' between each chapter, but... University, man... you can't ignore it :P But I hope you enjoyed this chapter and are looking forward to the next one! So watch this space! So, until next time, everyone... CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_?: To live alone... or die with your friends... you must choose..._

_Yu: Get... Get out of my head!_

_Yu: Is this... Is this what Yukari wanted me to feel...? Did she bring me here to to make me see what it was like for her...?_

_Yu: Who are you? ... Tell me!_

_?: I'm sorry... I'm really sorry..._

**SOMEONE IS RETURNING...**


	43. The Voice Of The Dead?

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Forty-Three_

_The Voice of the Dead?_

**Hi-ho, hi-ho it's time to write some mo'! Hello again for the forty-third time everyone, for we are now at chapter forty-three! I've had some more craving lately to get some words down... plus I did leave you with a cliffhanger, so it looks like it's time to see what had happened since Yu's supposed drowning. Are you ready? I hope you are! This is my Christmas Day present to you! So Happy Christmas everyone! LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0810 – Dark Hour – ? ? ?_

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><p>Yu was losing all consciousness; his body felt like it was shutting down, and the only thing he could hear under the depths of the dark ocean was his own heart beating slower and slower as he hovered helplessly with a shackle around his ankle. Time passed ever so slowly for Yu, but eventually, everything in his body, and everything in his power completely deprived him of any chances of survival. But even if he had any, it was too late. His mind, slowly and surely blanked, until the pain in his chest alleviated from him, along with his life.<p>

Suddenly though, the numb feeling in his fingers began to bring back sensation. And then a short while after, the life in his nerves began to reach down into his upper body, then up to his brain, and then miraculously down to his legs and feet. The feeling of the cold water was dispelled from his skin and the feeling of floating suddenly turned into a feeling of slowly falling down. The cloudiness from his head vanished, and his muscles became active again; he even regained the ability to open his eyes to what was happening around him.

At first, he couldn't see anything, expect from the darkness around him and the slow waving movements of his clothes. But then, as he gently fell more and more, a room was gradually forming around him. Finding a peculiar strength in his legs and feet, Yu softly landed on what looked the the floor; from the feel of it under his feet, he knew that it was carpet that he was standing on.

Yu rose up from his hunched back and straightened himself, stretching his neck and rubbing his eyes as if he had been rudely awakened; but that was exactly what is was, and when he looked around himself, he knew that something was out of place. "Eurgh..." Yu moaned, thinking at first that he had actually just woken up, until his mind started to sink in the severity of what happened only moments ago, "... wha... huh?! Where am I?"

As he looked around the room, he could notice how familiar the room looked to him; it was a fairly large room, and it had room for a living area, a dining room, kitchen and even a toilet. There were three sofas forming half a square around a small coffee table that sat in the middle. A short distance from was a TV that sat in the corner of a partitioning that was situated right in the middle of the room, showing dainty and sophisticated designs that were etched into the glass. The carpet seemed to change depending on the section of the room, and there was a dark-red carpet that went up to the stairs to what would've been the next floor up. The dining room had a long rectangular face that looked like its dark wood had been polished to the last speck of dust, and their were many chairs around it that could fit a small group of people. The bookshelves were posh and sturdy, and looked like it could hold plates as well as books. And to Yu's left, there was a desk counter that looked like it was made for a hotel, but it was smaller compared to conventional hotel desks.

Yu struggled to think of why he found this place so familiar, but when he took another panoramic view of the room, a thought instantly clicked inside his mind; but what he remembered of this place was that it was abandoned and they chased one of the culprits into this place when it was all ruined and crumbling. "Wait..." Yu mumbled to himself in surprise, "... this is the lounge... in the Iwatodai Dorm...! What am I doing here?"

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><p><em>0810 – Dark Hour – Iwatodai Dorm?_

* * *

><p>His head was still slightly struggling to take in everything, but he did manage to notice the green tints and the murky shades of the colour on the walls and floors; he knew that those were colours of the Dark Hour. There was no mistaking it. But even so, questions were flying in and around his mind, asking himself why the Iwatodai Dorm looked so pristine and clean and why he was even brought to this place. But then the answer came only seconds later.<p>

"... Who's there?!" shouted a voice from the darkness of the room, startling Yu and causing him to look frantically around the room to find where the source of the voice came from. Though the voice caught him off guard, he knew who's voice that was; at first, he was skeptical and didn't even believe who he was thinking of when he heard that voice. But he couldn't mistake it for any other.

A while later, and a figure eventually emerged from the shadows. Yu looked towards the partitioning where the figure was standing, and he was immediately shocked by who he was seeing. The figure was a female; she had short, light-brown hair the matched the colour of her eyes. She wore a short, black skirt on, which complimented her long, black stockings that had white fluorescent lines on them. She had brown leather shoes on, along with a pink slim-fitting jacket with a zipper that parted at the bottom. Underneath that sweater jacket was a white buttoned shirt with a loose red ribbon around the collar. She also had a heart-shaped choker around her neck.

Yu didn't know who it was until he looked closely enough to notice how familiar she was. He gasped and blinked twice, until he finally realised that it was Yukari who was standing there. But she looked younger than Yu remembered, almost around his age or even younger than that; it was definitely Yukari though, but instead of relieved to see her, he was quite frightful.

He could see her sweating at the forehead and her breathing pattern was quick and deep. She looked scared, almost petrified, but Yu didn't know how to react; something about her seemed off, and Yu didn't dare to come any closer to her. He remembered what she was like back in the TV world, and seeing her like this produced a lot of doubts in his mind.

But then his attention was drawn to her hand that was hovering over her leather holster strap where her Evoker was. She seemed reluctant and frightened to even touch the Evoker, which made Yu very uncertain of what she was going to do; considering the circumstances he was in, anything could happen, but Yu took a stance in case of any sudden movements. The stand-off between the two rose tensions to a new height, but neither of them moved. Yu didn't have his katana with him and neither did he have his Evoker, and the only thing he would be able to do is to dodge what Yukari might throw at him.

An uncomfortable while later, Yukari's hand suddenly moved. She grabbed the Evoker from the holster, and instead of moving away from her incoming assault, Yu just froze in place, shocked and frightened of what Yukari might pull on him. But just as this happened, another figure rushed from the stairs. "Takeba, wait!" they cried out from behind Yukari, immediately drawing her attention towards the one speaking. Yu looked to this person as well, but before he could make out who they were, he also found this voice as familiar. The figure stood out of the shadows though, and played the game of snaps in his mind.

This person was also a female, but looked slightly older than Yukari, and her dress sense seemed more sophisticated and grown-up. She had long, dark red hair that was wavy and sleek, which matched the colour of her eyes and lipstick and obscured one eye. She also had a red ribbon around her collar, even though it was bigger than Yukari's, and it looked like she had put a lot of effort into tidying it up. She wore a white buttoned shirt with thin grey stripes running vertically down the fabric, and with sleeves that became slightly baggier before the wrist and slim-fitting at the cuffs. Her long, black skirt went from high above her waist down to just before her knees. To complete her look, she wore black knee-high leather boots with high heels. But she also owned an Evoker, and even holds it in a holster around her waist where the elastic part of the skirt was.

Yu realised who it was, but again, he remembered her to be younger than she looked at that moment. "Huh? Wait..." he muttered to himself, before knowing who it was standing behind Yukari. It was Mitsuru; everything about her dress sense to the way she talked was all definitely her.

Shortly after, the green colours and tints slowly faded away and were replaced by the light of the chandelier and nearby lamps around them. The disorderly scene eventually became normal again. But Yu was still confused as to what was going on. _"The Dark Hour... is it over already...?" _Yu asked himself in his thoughts, feeling like he was missing something important, _"... but... what was I...?_

But before Yu could give it any more thought, the seemingly-younger Mitsuru, walked towards him until she was standing right in front of him. "I didn't think you'd arrive so late," she said to him with a little bit of surprise, which only made Yu so much more confused than he was only seconds ago, "My name is Mitsuru Kirijo. I'm one of the students who live in this dorm."

"What? But... I know-" Yu spoke meekly, only to cut off again when Yukari turned to Mitsuru as if she was unaware of Yu's presence. Mitsuru and Yukari looked to one another with Yukari looking to Yu occasionally. "... Who's he?" she asked briefly, looking back to Yu with a neutral expression. Even though she muttered it to Mitsuru though, Yu could overhear it and even had to analyse what he had just heard, trying to process in his mind if what he heard was right or not; he couldn't understand what was going on, neither did he understand if he was just being naturally clueless or not.

"He's a transfer student," Mitsuru replied to Yukari, "it was a last minute decision to assign him here. He'll eventually be moved to a room in the boys' dorm." Even though Yu found that Mitsuru was right about him being a transfer student, he was all the more baffled about what was happening; he knew that he didn't tell any of the members of S.E.E.S that he was a transfer student. "Wait, what?" Yu asked in surprise, just as mind-boggled as ever, "Mitsuru, what are you-?"

"... Is it okay for him to be here?" Yukari asked Mitsuru again, interrupting Yu mid-sentence. To Yu, it was like they were acknowledging him but ignoring him at the same time; nothing was making sense to him anymore. To him, it was like he just from one dimension into another, and considering all that was going on, he even began to believe that. "I guess we'll see..." Mitsuru answered Yukari, smiling as she said it.

"Mitsuru, Yukari! What is going on?! What do you mean it was a last minute decision to assign me here? And why are you saying I'm moving in here?!" Yu asked his question in a shout, holding the back of his head with his hands, hoping that he was just dreaming; the confusion was all too much for him. Mitsuru and Yukari then looked towards him, which gave some hope to him that he might finally get some answers.

"This is Yukari Takeba," Mitsuru introduced Yukari, immediately crushing Yu's hopes and making his head lower in helplessness, "she'll be a junior this spring, just like you." Yu was close to giving up, but after coming to this place with no knowledge of how he got here or why he came here, that simply wasn't an option. Whilst he spent a short while trying to think on the situation, Yukari bowed to him. "... Hey." she greeted him with a nervous smile.

"Guys, I know who you are! We met over a week ago! Why are you acting like we don't know each other?" Yu pressed for answers, demanding to know the truth of why this was all happening; he knew he wasn't being stupid, and his mind was as clear as day, but he knew that Mitsuru and Yukari wouldn't play a joke on him. The situation was far too serious for that.

But then, just when Yu was about to force out more questions, he heard another voice. "Nice to meet you." said the mystery voice; it echoed around the room, causing Yu to lose his bearings slightly when trying to look for where the source of the voice came from. It sounded like a male person was speaking; it sounded quite monotone and without enthusiasm. It was only a few seconds after hearing the voice that he knew who was the one speaking.

He suddenly felt a cold sensation run through the back of his body to the front, and whilst he felt this odd change in body temperature, his whole being became transparent, but only for a temporary moment. Because what passed through his body was the very thing that shocked him to the core; after this person walked through him like Yu was a ghost, he stood in front of him, facing Mitsuru and Yukari.

What Yu saw before him was a male, only slightly shorter in height; he wore the Gekkoukan High School Uniform and had headphones and a music player wrapped around his neck. When Yu walked around him to get a look of his facial features, he saw a tired and stoic expression on this person's face; he didn't even seem fazed by the Dark Hour that had only just passed. His posture was casual and confident, having his hands in his pockets and his shoulders leaning back. But the very thing that made Yu gasp and recoil in surprise was that this person had blue hair that was slightly swept to the side, concealing one eye from view. And it was then that Yu instantly clicked in his mind what was going on here.

"Huh... wow... I get it now." Yu said, staring at the one person who had been at the very heart of the investigation from the start.

"I'm Minato Arisato." the blue-haired boy introduced himself to the girls. Before Yu was none other than Minato Arisato when he was alive, meeting his Senpai and his soon-to-be lover for the first time.

When Yu realised this, he knew where he was and how he had gotten here. "These are Yukari's memories... but..." he said to himself, knowing that no one around him could hear his voice; but at that same time, a slight panic filled him with worry, "... what happened to ME? I was... drowning... but I'm okay?" He looked at his hands and then his body, not able to find a single injury on him, nor a damp spot that would've suggested that he was drowning in an ocean. But then another thought sprung to mind; one that he couldn't validate, but would make sense to him. "The ocean! It must've been a part of the dungeon, so... if this memory is where the ocean is... am I still drowning?!" he asked himself again, finding no other conclusion to this phenomenon; and even though he tried to find alternative answers, he was convinced of that one idea, that he was still underwater, helplessly submerging.

Before he could think on it though, the doors behind him and the alive Minato suddenly bursted open, revealing a brilliant white light which blinded Yu as he looked into it. But then, a force began to tug on him, which got stronger and stronger until he felt like he was going to swept off his feet at any moment. Startled by this, Yu tried to back away from the doors; as he did though, he saw the surrounding break away into dust-like particles, watching the formations and colours before him being whisked away through the doors, revealing nothing but white blankness as they were being sucked into the light. Even Minato, Mitsuru and Yukari were breaking away with the backdrop, and as Yu watched them disappear, he witness their bodies and neutral expressions materialising out of view and into the void that lied beyond the doors.

Yu held on to the couch as the force suddenly turned into a hurricane, but only for as long as it was there; when the sofas disappeared through the doorway, Yu lost his balance and cried out in fright as he was swept off his feet by the force that yanked on him with a vicious grip. He then flew out of the doors and into the unknown, tumbling and spinning out of control into the whiteness of nothingness around him.

* * *

><p><em>0810 – Dark Hour – ? ? ?_

* * *

><p>After a few dizzying seconds of trying to gain control of his flight and trying to come to terms with what was going on around him, the bright blankness of his surroundings slowly began to transition again. After seeing the colours of dust being sucked through the doors of the Iwatodai Dorm, particles of different colours then materialised into view; all the while, Yu's balance was slowly being brought back to him, until finally he could get a chance to see where he was.<p>

He hovered on the spot and spun his body round to get a panoramic view, but the first thing to settle before him was the ground. As he landed, he could see the same green colours of the concrete-like structure that he stood on. There were small puddles of blood dotted around the area that settled in small cracks of the stone and between the small gaps of the brick wall that stood behind him. Turning to face the wall, he saw a metal door that was also spattered with crimson and green tints that complimented the night sky around him; the magnitude of the full moon in the high heavens was discomforting to see, almost as if it could touch Earth at any moment.

All was silent. Not a single sound was made. "What is this?" he asked himself aloud, "Where am I now?" He, however, knew that he was still in Iwatodai since he could see Tartarus in the background; but upon further inspection, he realised that his geographical location hadn't changed since the last transition of the background. He eventually pieced together the clues and knew that he was still at the Iwatodai Dormitory, but on its rooftop.

* * *

><p><em>0810 – Dark Hour – Iwatodai Dorm Rooftop?_

* * *

><p>"The rooftop... what am I doing here now? Is this another one of Yukari's memories?" He asked himself again, questioning if where he was had any relevance to the reason why he was experiencing these events. But before he could answer his own questions, a sudden slam was heard from behind him.<p>

Yu immediately turned around to find the source of the slamming and instantly found two figures running out through the metal door and quickly swinging it behind them to close it. After trying to analyse the figures through the bright green colours, he was met again with the sight of Minato and the younger version of Yukari; they were panting and struggling to catch their breath, which only upped the fear-factor for Yu when he saw them in this state.

Yukari sighed with a slight relief. "The door's locked. I think we're safe for now..." she said to Minato, leaning on the door to recover her breath. Minato, however, didn't have anywhere in him to speak. Just seeing these two like this was unnerving for Yu to see, especially when he had suspicions that they were running away from something. "That doesn't look good..." Yu spoke to himself, acting as if Minato and Yukari could hear him. But just as he said this, a dissonant bellowing yelling came from the far side of the rooftop, which turned everyone's heads towards the source of the noise in shock.

BGM: Master of Shadow - Persona 3 OST

There was a pause, and an odd silence that left the three wondering what was coming up from the side of the Iwatodai Dorm. And then shortly after, a thin, abnormal black hand rose from beyond the concrete and placed itself down onto the stone, startling them as they saw it shoot up. But following after that was something even more horrifying. Another black hand slowly emerged from over the edge, but with a plain, blue mask with wide black eyes and a marking entitled 'I' that was etched into it's forehead.

As the hand twisted the mask as if it was its own pair of eyes to look through, a squelching and unpleasant sound was heard from its wrist, but that was the least of their worries. The mask's eyes suddenly turned to the three and darted its expressionless eyes towards them as if it has spotted them; but as a matter of fact, that was the very thing they were all afraid of.

Unexpectedly, many more arms emerged from the edge of the building which held onto the concrete, followed by even more hands that carried sharp knife-like objects in each of those hands; Yu counted the knives and found six, mortified by the image of what he was seeing and by how murderous and violent this thing was becoming. Suddenly, using the arms that held onto the roof, it pulled itself with a massive amount of strength onto the roof, revealing itself as none other than a Shadow.

But Yu knew that this wasn't like any other Shadows he, himself, had come across before; he's seen the likes of the lesser Shadows and he's seen his own friends' Shadow, but he has never seen anything like this since he first came to know what Shadows were. Somewhere in his mind, however, reminded him of what S.E.E.S had told him about the Shadows they encountered during the Dark Hour on certain nights; nights where there was a full moon, to be exact. "Wh-what is that?!" he cried out with concern for the couple behind him.

And it was then that Yu realised that he was standing before one of these Shadows at that moment in time. For him, it was a petrifying experience, especially with how inclined the Shadow was to potentially kill someone.

However, Yu knew he had to do something, and out of instinct, he attempted to reach for his Evoker, only to be reminded that he didn't have his Evoker with him. So he had to use the next best thing; he held out his hand and revealed a hovering tarot card that emerged from the cool blue flame and mist of his psyche. Then, when his Persona was set, he crushed it as he clenched his fist. "Izanagi!" he called to his Persona, feeling the violent wind of his mind erupt from underneath him along with a blue inferno to materialise Izanagi onto the battlefield.

Yu immediately extended his arm out and watched as Izanagi glided forward with a blinding speed towards the Shadow. Then, after gaining some momentum, the Persona jumped up into the air and held its naginata behind its head in preparation for a vertical slash assault. And soon enough, Izanagi was hurtling down towards the Shadow, bringing its blade forward as he came down. However, what happened next was something Yu didn't anticipate.

When Izanagi's blade was thought to have impacted on the Shadow, all Yu could hear was the sound of metal hitting stone, and he even saw a bit of spark coming off the naginata when the Persona made its move. But there was no sign of any reaction from the Shadow, which baffled Yu greatly; in fact, the vertical slash only seemed to have passed through it, like it was a spirit.

Before Yu could say anything on it though, he remembered what the rules were of this place and cast his mind back to the previous background transition. "Ah shoot! I forgot!" he yelled at himself, feeling stupid for not letting it sink into his mind sooner, "This is a memory... I don't have any effect on anything here!" Even though he was frustrated about not being able to change the situation, he was somewhat relieved that the Shadow wasn't in any way his problem; however, he was greatly concerned when he knew that Minato and Yukari were the only ones who could fight it. It was only when he turned round to them that he found a shocking and unnerving image.

Yu turned his body, and the first thing he saw was Yukari holding her Evoker with both hands and resting the point of the barrel against her forehead, standing in front of Minato in an act of protection. Although she was fully prepared to take the bullet and summon her Persona, she didn't. Instead, she was breathing heavily in a shaky and nearly uncontrollable manner, like she was doing only moments ago. Yu could only look on her with worry and confusion. "Yukari, what's going on? Why aren't you summoning your Persona?" he whispered in question to himself.

But then Yu took a more observant approach and looked more closely at Yukari; she seemed nervous, but ultimately, scared and frightened, and no matter how much she tried to pull the trigger, her reluctant finger just wasn't letter her. But almost seemed like, anytime her finger was close to firing the Evoker, her breathing became more frantic and more shaky. The stance she took against the Shadow seemed quite closed as well; her legs were wobbling and so were her arms. And it was then that Yu knew what Yukari was afraid of. He eventually came to the realisation that this was one of Yukari's first times at using an Evoker, and he could understand why since it resembled so much of a gun; even he knew how hard it was to fire an Evoker at his head for the first time. But Yukari was truly terrified.

Suddenly, a blue ribbon-like spiral erupted from the ground only inches in front of Yukari that caused a small smokescreen upon impact. This startled everyone who saw it, and Yukari was immediately stunned when it happened. But when Yu turned back round to the Shadow, things were about to get even more worse.

Yu caught a glimpse in the corner of his eye of the Shadow when it jumped over his head with one of its large knives at the ready. The Shadow jumped high and far, and as Yu looked up at it as it glided, he saw its main body with a frightening chill, noticing how it was only compiled of nothing but long and thin black arms that were used for all kinds of things; to crawl, to fight and to act like the world's most abnormal contortionist.

The assault was quick, yet powerful. When the Shadow's knife stabbed into the concrete with only centimetres away from her toes, the force of the quake that emitted from the attack knocked Yukari away from where she was standing; she flew a large distance before landing with a hard fall on the concrete. And whilst this all ensued, she had let go of her Evoker mid-flight, throwing it in a completely different direction; conveniently, however, it landed in a shallow pool of crimson blood, right before Minato's feet.

Yu turned his body back round to Minato, who was now fixating his eyes on the gun-like weapon with stillness and almost like he was empty on the inside. He knew that this was also Minato's first time at seeing an Evoker; all that was left to speculation was if it was his first time as using it. But after an uncomfortable few seconds later, the blue-haired boy bent down and picked up the Evoker, running his fingers along the blood that stained the metalwork. But when he did this, the Shadow was edging closer and closer to him, flailing its knives like it was a one-man riot. However, Minato didn't budge; he was still, almost taking everything in his stride despite everything that was occurring around him.

Moments later, that all changed. Minato closed his eyes and lowered his head slightly, breathing heavily and sweating like Yukari was, but with more calmness and steadiness than she had. He breathed in and then out, and repeated the process of doing so before uttering words Yu found strangely familiar; he felt as if he had heard those words from somewhere. "Per... so... na..." he mumbled the words, before taking a leap of faith and using a rapid finger to pull the trigger.

BGM: Unavoidable Battle – Persona 3 OST

Suddenly, a shot of a resonating bullet, followed by the bellowing noise of a tremendous eruption crashed into earshot; a navy and indigo swirling of colours rose in a vortex from Minato's feet, carrying shattered pieces of glass in its gale. And through the flames of Minato's subconscious, a Persona slowly materialised behind him. _"Thou art I... and I am thou..." _spoke out a low yet familiar voice that Yu knew, _"From the sea of thy soul I cometh... I am Orpheus, master of strings..."_

The Persona rose up from behind a smiling Minato and screaming at the top of its lungs as it was being summoned onto the battlefield. Yu could remember it from when Aigis summoned it in a catastrophic attempt, but now he was witnessing it in its full glory. And as the voice said, he was seeing Orpheus before him. Or so it seemed at first.

Suddenly, Orpheus cried out in agony, as did Minato as he held his head like he was containing something trying to crawl out of his mind; Orpheus' face and head began to lose its shape, as when something seemed like it was forcing itself out of the Persona, it wriggled and squirmed in an attempt to rid himself of the pain that it was going through. But an even more gruesome and horrific image was waiting for Yu, and he didn't have to wait too long, because what he saw next was close to making him physically sick.

Hands suddenly ripped through Orpheus' neck and reached out of its glowing red mouth, viciously trying to separate and tear the Persona's face away. This was already becoming something like a horror movie massacre, but the disturbing images continued on. Arms then reached out from where Orpheus' head would've been and grabbed its shoulders with a grip so tight that it could crush the strongest metal. But then, the arms, along with an incredible amount of strength, forced the shoulders in opposing directions which then split Orpheus completely into fragments and pieces, including its head that dropped to the ground with its eyes and mouth fixed into wide positions like it had been beheaded by the neck.

But what emerged from the remains of Orpheus was something Yu could only just about bare to look at; there was no doubt about it that it was a Persona, but it was one of the most shocking and terrifying things anyone had ever seen.

This Persona had a head that was white pale metal with two small holes in its head that resembled eyes that never changed expression; it's mouth and teeth were shaped in zig-zags and made the head look like a mask with no face hidden behind it. It donned a dark-violet and crimson-red attire fit for the grim reaper; it was buttoned from top to where its knees were. Around its waist was a thick, leather belt that had a golden plaque at the front of it that had an etching of the skull-and-crossbones as the face of it. It's long military-like gloves and leather boots had the same shade of crystal white, and their uniform style complimented the sword holster that could be seen on its belt. Where the red straps were on its shoulders, chains were linked into where the chest-bone could be found, and those shackles were linked to hovering coffin faces that aligned themselves like demonic wings behind the Persona. These coffin lids had motifs of white cloaked angels holding a sword in front of them. And in its right hand, there was a blade that could stretch longer than the height of at least three people.

Upon seeing this Persona, Yu gasped and even felt the need to back away because of how demonic and violent it was towards the Shadow, especially after it broke out of Orpheus' body in the most ghastly way imaginable. "That's a Persona?! What is that?!" Yu yelled over the noise the Persona was making, terrified if it came any closer to him.

But then suddenly, the demonic Persona launched itself into the air, which hurled Minato's head forward as it leapt. Then, performing the same action Izanagi did, it then came crashing back down towards the Shadow with its blade preparing for a vertical slash attack. When the Persona touched back down to Earth, so did its sword, slicing through the Shadow like it was nothing, and when it thought that it wasn't enough, the Persona used a hand and its blade to rip and tear the Shadow's flesh apart, slicing and slashing as it went. It sliced the Shadows arms one by one, watching as they flailed around the area helplessly.

The sound of the Persona's war cry along with the dying winces and the squashes and squelches of the Shadow was a disturbing combination to hear, but the carnage that was spattered around the battlefield was even worse; the place became a mess of Shadow remains and mixed in with the puddles of blood, and it even managed to create a whole new atmosphere for Yu.

But eventually, the violence subsided. Yu and even the fallen Yukari looked on Minato and the Persona with surprised and shocked expressions, unable to believe what had just happened. But just as they were thinking on the violence, the Persona suddenly formed back into Orpheus, relieving them of the horrors they had witnessed.

"Is it over...?" Yukari asked, hopeful that everything would be calm again. Yu would've wanted to think the same thing, but after a while of silence, the flailing arms from the Shadow that became immobile, suddenly came back to life, turning into black liquid messes that spawned miniature arms and masks that resembled the large Shadow's own. Before they could start crawling their way over to the duo though, Minato instantly jumped into action, clutching Yukari's Evoker in one hand and his sword in the other.

He sprinted towards the lesser Shadows with a determination to protect the dorm from any harm, and utilised his new-found power as much as he could. Yu watched in awe as Orpheus and Minato worked in unison to destroy all of the Shadows in sight, showing him what they were capable of when he was alive. Yu could tell that this moment in time was Minato's first time at fighting Shadows, but watching him now made him look like he was killing off Shadows for years; his expertise at fighting was almost immaculate, and no matter how many times he was hit by the Shadows, he never faltered and never gave up. "That's... incredible..." Yu complimented.

Soon enough though, Minato had cleared the area of all the Shadows and looked around the area for more. But all was silent now, and all around Minato were surprised looks of awe, both from Yukari and Yu. For Yu, it felt surreal to see Minato, alive and well, fighting against their common enemy as well as utilising the power of Persona way before he ever did. But this feeling was short-lived.

Seconds later, Minato dropped the Evoker and his blade, and his eyes slowly closed. He then suddenly fell to his knees and collapsed onto the side of his head. He was breathing but unable to move. Seeing this, Yu and Yukari ran over to the fallen Minato to check if he was okay. Yu couldn't do anything to help, although he wished he could, but all he was able to do was to watch Yukari shake his shoulders in the hope that he would wake up. "Minato, are you okay?!" she desperately called out to him, "Come on...! Say something!"

Yu was greatly concerned for Minato's wellbeing, but he didn't know why. He knew that this was all Yukari's memories and that he was already dead back in reality, wherever that was. But he couldn't help but feel that his presence there could help his friends out, even though they were younger than he remembered them to be.

A short while after, there was still no response from Minato. And at that same time, Mitsuru and another figure that looked like a younger version of Akihiko came running out through the metal door. "Are you alright?!" Akihiko asked Yukari in worry, as if he was aware of what had happened. However, Yukari didn't respond; she was still focused on bringing Minato back from his unconsciousness. "Can you hear me?!" she cried out to him again, "Please...! Answer me!"

"What happened to him...?" Yu asked himself, somewhat hoping that the others around him could answer him. But knowing the circumstances of this place, he knew he wasn't going to get one; or so he thought.

After a while of watching Yukari, Mitsuru and Akihiko tending to the fallen Minato, a sudden light shone through the open metal door that the two came through. Since Yu was the only one to notice the bright light pouring out from it, he shielding his eyes away from the brilliance of how blinding it was. There was nothing else for him here on the rooftop, and he knew that the door couldn't have been lit up for no reason, so he stood up and took one last look at the scene before walking towards the door.

Approaching the exit, Yu had to turn his head away from the light the closer he got to it, but after entering it, he became completely engulfed in it; it felt soothing, calming and safe, and Yu only wondered what was beyond it. After a short while of bathing in the light's warmth though, he was then introduced to the next scenery of Yukari's memories.

* * *

><p><em>0810 – Dark Hour - ? ? ?_

* * *

><p>The dust particles were sweeping in and started to build up in their masses, slowly but surely revealing the next backdrop. At first, Yu couldn't see anything because of the light that he was exposed to earlier on, but when he got a chance, the first glimpses of the memory were mostly white and shades similar to that colour. When the surroundings were finally materialised, Yu looked around himself to see where he was.<p>

Strangely, the Dark Hour wasn't present anymore, and the large windows brought in a brilliant day of sunshine and clarity; but he knew that this was Yukari's memories and not the real world. Where he really was, the Dark Hour was still active. But with no other way out and with no other leads apart from what he had got himself into, he could only watch what was unfolding in front of him.

Focusing his attention on the background, he noticed straight away that he was inside a room; the walls floors and ceiling were all white and mostly made of marble, and everywhere he looked, it was all sterile and clean. He passed a curtain track that was light-blue in colour and he could hear multiple receptionist phones ringing along with the sound of many heart-monitors going off at once. He was starting to see where he was, but the very thing that confirmed it in his head was when he saw Minato asleep in a patient bed right in front of him, along with a bedside table with a vase of healthy sunflowers on it. And right next to Minato's bed was Yukari sitting on a blue stood, looking down at him as she waited for him to wake up.

"Right... I'm in a hospital..." Yu mumbled to himself, trying to remember the name of the hospital that's situated in Iwatodai, "... Oh! The Tatsumi Memorial Hospital! This must be after Minato's fight with the Shadow."

* * *

><p><em>0810 – Dark Hour – Tatsumi Memorial Hospital?_

* * *

><p>Yukari suddenly gasped. "You're awake...!" she said in surprise, sounding glad and relieved. Yu turned his head round to her and then looked towards Minato, who had now woke up and had turned his head to Yukari, "Um, how do you feel?"<p>

Minato moaned in exhaustion and lifted his head up from his pillow to look at his surroundings. "Where am I...?" he asked groggily, turning back to Yukari for the answer. He had to squint to stop the light from blinding him, especially after waking up from a long slumber. Yukari wanted to answer, but she was just so pleased to see Minato finally awake. "Thank goodness. You finally came to..." she said with a huge smile and a sigh, "How much sleep do you need?! It's been a whole week...! I was so worried about you..."

Yu walked across and came closer to the couple, listening to their conversations. As they talked and talked, Yu couldn't help but feel happy just watching them converse with one another; it felt way beyond strange for him to see Minato alive and for Yukari to speak to him so naturally, as if he wasn't dead at all. Of course, this was Yukari's memories, and Yu had no power to change anything here, but just seeing the two talk to each other like this made him grin. But, ultimately, there was real, proper and genuine smile on Yukari's face; an expression Yu had never ever seen from her since he knew her. She looked so calm and so full of life when she was with him, and the happiness she emitted was very contagious. But then, thinking on this, Yu now finally understood why Minato's absence and death caused Yukari so much grief; the proof was there before him. And it made him somewhat sad to think on it.

Turning his attention back to Yukari, Yu saw her stand up from her seat and walked towards the large window, fidgeting with her fingers. "I, uh..." Yukari said reluctantly, "I wanted to tell you that... I'm sort of like you."

"What do you mean?" Minato asked her, trying to sit up.

"My dad died in an accident when I was little..." she replied, turning back round to Minato, "... and my mom and I aren't exactly on good terms... you're all alone too, right?"

Yu saw Minato close his eyes and forced a smile in agreement with Yukari. He hummed in understanding. "To be honest, I already know about your past... but it didn't seem fair, so I wanted you to know about mine..." And after hearing this from Yukari, Yu realised that this moment in time was when Minato and Yukari first became friends; they both shared the same story, the same past and the same circumstances. They had a lot in common, and Yu knew that that had to play a part in their relationship growth later on.

"These memories..." Yu mumbled to himself in thought, facing away from the two to concentrate on his train of thought, "... they aren't random; they're part of the dungeon after all... and so far, they're only showing me the moments when she was with Minato. Is it that Yukari wanted me to see this? But why would that be?"

Before he could get round to the answers, however, the ground beneath him began to shake. "Ah-ah! Whoa!" Yu cried out when he suddenly lost his balance. The scenery was quickly turning to dust again and rapidly breaking apart below his feet without any warning whatsoever. For the second time, he was falling into nothingness, watching as the backdrop was whisked away into the endless abyss of white. Tumbling and hurtling towards nothing, Yu yelled out as he plummeted forever, struggling to find what was upside down and what was the right side up. No matter, where he looked, everywhere was blank.

Then all of a sudden, Yu felt his back flop onto a comfortable surface and bounce off of it, feeling another small force of gravity pulling on him before being falling face-first onto a harder surface. Feeling like he only just woke up, Yu immediately shot up from his spot and looked around himself to see what was going on; what he was met with was very unexpected, and quite a surprise when he saw everything around him.

* * *

><p><em>0810 – Dark Hour - ? ? ?_

* * *

><p>Only moments ago, he was seeing white everywhere; not one colour or thing or person was in sight. But then, after Yu stood up, he was faced with another backdrop, and it was something he did not expect to see.<p>

He was, again, in another room; the wallpaper, the walls and even the ceiling donned different shades of purple and had designs and motifs that resembled roses, lipstick stains, love-hearts and other images of seductiveness. All objects in the room were quite sophisticated, posh and fancy and it went with a certain theme that Yu didn't even want to think about. The room was large though, and there was enough room to fit big bonsais, miniature palm trees and potted plants alike, and all the while, there was a violet, circular-shaped waterbed that he was stood next to, which he thought was the thing that comforted his fall just moments ago; but it was large and could probably fit more than two people easily, and going by what he gathered about the room, he could just tell that that was the bed's purpose, if not only two people were occupying this room; apart from all of this, however, the crimson bloodstains on the walls and in the corners of the room made him knew that he was witnessing another event that happened during the Dark Hour. The only noise he could hear was the sound of running water, and judging by its distinction and acoustics, it sounded like it was coming from a nearby shower.

"Eurgh..." Yu groaned, not only because he was in a bit of pain from the fall, but also because he had some idea of where he was, "... please... I hope this isn't what I think it is..." He hoped and hoped, and the only way he could confirm it for himself is to find a sign that had the name of the place. Conveniently enough though, there was a golden plaque that was nailed into the wall near the posh bedside table; from where he was standing, Yu could read the sign that said, 'Champs De Fleurs', and underneath that, it said in slightly smaller letters, 'Shirakawa Boulevard'. When he read out the location of the place, he instantly looked up to the ceiling with an expression of disgust and embarrassment. "Oh no..." he muttered to himself with a moan, "... the Seaside Clamshell Inn was bad enough..."

* * *

><p><em>0810 – Dark Hour – Champs De Fleurs?_

* * *

><p>After running disturbing thoughts through his mind, he desperately tried to shake off a thought that made him think of why one of Yukari's memories would bring him here. His theory that the memories he's experienced so far only include her and Minato had began to make Yu hopeful that the reason he was in the place wasn't what he was thinking of.<p>

He was facing the wall, and knowing that the revisit of the memory could happen at any moment then, he just couldn't find it in himself to turn round. But he couldn't stare at a wall for that whole time either. So he took a deep breath, squinted his eyes in readiness for what he might witness, and quickly turned himself round. Surprisingly though, he only found Minato again, sitting on the bed in his full Gekkoukan High School attire with his head lowered to the floor. "Huh...? Minato?" he called to the blue-haired boy, noticing how he'd forgotten that he couldn't hear him.

Yu walked over to Minato and bent down to get a look of his face; upon seeing the entirety of his expression, he looked neutral but also dazed and almost as if he was hypnotised; he stared at the floor, but at the same time seemed like he was struggling with something. "What the...? What's happening to him?" Yu asked himself once again, bringing his face closer to Minato to get a better look.

But as he did this, a sudden heaviness in his mind began to take a hold of him, followed by a massive knock-back that felt like his brain was being forced to the back of his head. "Kyah! Arrrgh!" he cried out in agony, arching his back due to the mental whiplash he was experiencing without warning. He then fell onto his back from the force and held his head, unable to comprehend with what was trying to worm inside his mind.

BGM: Fearful Experience - Persona 3 OST

Suddenly, the pain instantly stops, and a foggy, cloudy sensation takes him over; his sight was slightly impaired and his hearing became muffled and unclear, almost distorted. But then shortly after, a low and nearly inaudible voice rings with a vibrating resonance inside his head. _"I am the voice of your inner self..." _the voice grumbled.

"Wha-! What is... happening?! I can't-!" Yu cried out in a struggle, trying to give himself a motivation to break free of the thing that was rewiring his mental code. All of his thoughts were scrambled, and every desire in himself was becoming aligned; every one of his desires were being brought to the front of his lobe, and he couldn't fix his mind on anything else. Something was controlling his line of thinking, but he was aware of the plight that was ailing him.

"_When friends are out of reach... you are alone... made redundant by the ones who loved you..." _the voice spoke again, saying words Yu would've found to be completely unacceptable. But shockingly, Yu, for a moment, had a feeling in himself that what the voice said rang true; he was convinced, just for a few seconds, that he believed its words, and he was quite calm about it. But when his conscience kicked in and put him back on the rails, Yu couldn't believe what he was thinking. "N-No...! That's not true... you're... wrong-!" Yu yelled to the one inside his head, struggling to form his words now and again.

"_They come, they go... but where do you go? You're left behind... lost on a path you could only pave with them. You live... and you live alone. You'll carry on living... and you'll carry on living alone. You'll die... and you'll die alone..." _the voice polemically spoke. And again, Yu tried to fight the urge to believe its words that he, at first, felt the need to believe. He was becoming angry at himself for thinking that way, and the cloudiness only got worse. "No... I won't be left behind..." he replied weakly, finding the struggle for clarity difficult to bear.

"_To live alone... or die with your friends... you must choose..." _the voice pressed on, attempting to persuade Yu to the point where he would accept it.

"Get... get out of my head! ARRRRGGGHH! Yu yelled out, trying incredibly hard to cast his mind off of the thoughts that were forced into the central line of his thinking. But strangely enough, after he had commanded the voice to stop, it did. All at once, his thinking became clear again, his sight and hearing were restored, and the foggy feeling that blanketed his mind into nothing but confusion had vanished.

He quickly sat up from the carpet and panicked when he tried to think on what the voice was trying to persuade him to do. His breathing became shaky and his arms and legs felt like jelly as he regained his strength in his muscles. He then turned back round to Minato who was still dazed and staring at the floor, which then gave him a clue to his recent experience. "That must've been what Minato was going through..." he deduced, trying to recover from the fear, "... but this is Yukari's memory... she must've gone through the same thing. But even so, what I heard wasn't her own inner thoughts... it wouldn't make sense." Even so, he said this in a way that didn't mention himself in the deduction; he was convinced that what he had heard had nothing to do with him whatsoever, even if he accepted that he was slightly persuaded by what the voice had told him.

At that same time, Yu couldn't hear the running water anymore, and knowing that Yukari had to be around here somewhere, he knew that it was she who was in the shower. So before he would have to confront something he didn't want to, Yu quickly got up from his seat and rushed towards the nearby doors and, without hesitation, left through the doorway.

* * *

><p><em>0810 – Dark Hour - ? ? ?_

* * *

><p>Upon leaving through the doors, he was then met with yet another transition in location. And as he walked out through the doorway, he looked behind himself to see the doors closing; when he did though, he was surprised to see that the doors had suddenly vanished from view, as if they never existed. But thinking on it, he was glad that he didn't have to see what was going on behind them. Ignoring it, he then turned his attention back to the change in surroundings and immediately knew where he was.<p>

He felt that familiar crunching under his feet, remembering the texture of the smooth sand that he walked on. Along with this the sound of the waves that crashed gently onto the shore was familiar to the ear and calming to listen to. It was only these two things that immediately gave Yu an idea of where he was, but seeing Minato and Yukari once again in front of him confirmed him of where he was. In fact, he was here only recently, but he remembered it to be a more horrific landscape and a more discordant atmosphere; this place was tranquil, warm and homely.

"Right... so this is what the beach looks like..." Yu mumbled out loud, looking around himself to take in the vacation feel of the area, "... Yakushima... this is Yukari's dungeon in the TV world...!"

* * *

><p><em>0810 – Dark Hour – Yakushima Beach?_

* * *

><p>Yu still felt slightly awkward in himself from his recent experience with the mystery voice in his head, and transitioning himself from memory to memory, along with the affects of moving from moments in the Dark Hour to events in the day, made him lose his thinking slightly. But coming to this place made him comfortable and made him enjoy the moment.<p>

However, after taking in as much of the tranquility as possible, he walked over to the summer-dressed Yukari and Minato who were stood beside the ocean, conversing with one another. As Yu approached them, he could overhear their words as they got louder and louder, until he had to stop a short distance away from them so that he could give himself space to see this unfold, as well as to give them space, even though it wouldn't have made a difference.

BGM: Living With Determination - Persona 3 OST

Yukari turned her head from the ocean to Minato, seeming upset and almost devastated. "Remember what I told you at the hospital...? How my dad died when I was little...? You understand now, right...? He died in that incident," she told him softly, looking down to the sand as she spoke, "Nobody knew the truth, so there were all sorts of rumours... because he was in charge of the research team, people were really mean to me and my mom... We even had to move a few times."

As Yu listened, it was as if Yukari was baring her whole past to him, when really, she was revealing it all to Minato. Yu could sense the trust Yukari had in him, and it even made him quite sympathetic towards her, not just because of the rough past she had, but also because she once told her story to someone she cared about so much; to someone who wasn't alive anymore, and to someone she felt comfortable saying these things to. "She must be talking about her father..." Yu said to himself as he kept a keen ear on Yukari, "... Wow... I didn't realise how much she had suffered... losing Minato must've been harder than I ever imagined it would be for her..."

After coming to understand the true nature of Yukari's past, he continued to listen intently to the conversation. "I'm so sorry, Yukari. That must've been tough." Minato replied to her, walking closer to her side. Yukari's head turned closer towards Minato and she darted her gaze to the ground as she reminisced her memories some more. "... Yeah," she spoke again, reluctantly, "but all this time, I kept telling myself it wasn't his fault. I loved him a lot, and I believed he'd never do anything wrong."

It was clear to see that Yukari was haunted by her determination to find the truth behind the incident that she talked about; Yu remembered S.E.E.S telling him of such a thing, and hearing Yukari reveal her struggles behind its mystery, it made him think of how much grief she must've gone through without finding out anything. However, it wasn't the thing he needed to find out, and so he brought his attention back to the conversation.

He could hear sniffles coming from Yukari, and edged around her to get a look of her face, but she then turned her head back to the sea. "Why does reality have to be so harsh...? I tried so hard to fight my fear, and this is what I get..." she lamented, turning her head some more so that Minato couldn't see her face, "... Maybe i'm just jealous of Mitsuru-senpai. I mean, why my father and not hers...?" As soon as Yu heard that, he instantly recoiled in a slight surprise, trying to analyse in his mind if what she said was true and if he actually hear that right; even Minato was quite gobsmacked to hear it, but what she said next put their surprised expressions to rest.

"Haha... I'm a horrible person, aren't I?" she asked Minato with a forced chuckle, somewhat taking back what she had said before. Minato and Yu shared the same look of understanding and they knew where she was coming from; it was clear to them both that she was in a very vulnerable position. She waited for an answer, but didn't wait too long to hear it.

Upon hearing Yukari beating herself up, Minato rushed in a walk towards her until he was right in front of her, bending down slightly so that he could get a look of her expression. "Don't blame yourself, Yukari... it was no fault of yours..." Minato said in reassurance to her, urging her to not think in that way about herself. But after saying this, Yukari looked up at him with frustrated and agitated eyes, forcing a chuckle like she thought Minato was telling her what she was. She then walked away from her spot and confronted Minato with an upfront-and-personal attitude.

"Hmph! Well you're just Mr. Perfect. Nothing ever fazes you." she suddenly snapped at him, telling him off with a tone of anger and upset; however, despite the shouts, Minato didn't budge, but rather, he stood his ground, "And now you've got the nerve to try and tell me how to feel?! You think you know me?! You don't know anything!" Yu could only look on her argumentative behaviour with a sad look, knowing fully well that she didn't mean any of that; he was right.

Minato had the same look and only looked at her with an expression that suggested that he understood her feelings. And when she saw it on his face, a guilty look suddenly sprung onto her face; she then brought up her hands and placed them on his chest, grabbing his t-shirt with her fingers and burying her head into them. She sniffled and choked slightly. "I'm sorry..." she apologised with a guilty tone, feeling as if what she said to him wasn't in her power to take back, "My head's a mess... I'm so afraid. I don't know what to do anymore... I'm totally lost..."

And it was then that Yu witnessed the first time Yukari had put her whole faith and trust in the one person who would later become her best friend, her partner, but ultimately, her lover; it was at that moment where he saw a spark that would ignite that growth in relationship. "Tell me... What should I do...?" she then asked of Minato, desperate for guidance.

Silence fell, and Yu looked to Minato, who fixed his eyes forward to think on what Yukari should do. Yu could see it in his eyes that he wasn't the one to say what she would do, but at the same time couldn't leave her to figure it out for herself; she was truly and utterly lost, and knowing that Yu annoyingly couldn't do anything like he could do before, it was Minato who had to say it. "Maybe..." he spoke out of the quiet, lowering his head so that Yukari could hear his voice, "... Don't lose hope. You should keep believing in him."

It was simple and brief, but what Minato suggested rang true; Yu fully agreed with him, and he thought that he couldn't have put it better himself. He saw Yukari widen her eyes, as if she had come to a realisation of something so simple, yet so motivational. She chuckled slightly. "You mean, keep believing...?" she asked, lifting her head up to him.

Minato nodded and gave a small grin to cheer her up. She managed a smile with him, despite there being a tear that fell down her cheek. "You know, you really are one-of-a-kind..." she complimented him with a sigh, thankful that he was with her to hear her story, "I'm sorry for acting like this. You've lost your parents, too. But, I'm alright now... I'm used to dealing with stressful situations."

"She probably had to deal with that for most of her life..." Yu added, hearing that last sentence from Yukari as significant.

"Anyway, thanks for listening," Yukari thanked Minato again, looking up to him with great gratitude. But then, at that moment, Yu noticed something; their eyes locked, and Yukari's hands didn't let go of Minato's shirt. Their expressions turned into that of surprise, and then suddenly into calm and soft looks of affection.

Minato looked into Yukari's eyes and she looked into his, unable to look anywhere else. Yukari blushed and Minato smiled a bit; things were all looking very intimate between the two, and Yu felt it. But the thing that convinced him of a stronger bond between them was when Minato then wrapped his arms around her waist, which made Yukari's face even more red; none of them, however, wanted to let go. To Yu, this moment was every couple's image of a perfect moment. With Minato's affectionate arms around Yukari and her hands gently holding his shoulders, their embrace suggested more than just friendship. Yu knew that this was the place where their love for each other started; this was the beginning of their loving relationship, and Junpei had told him that before. Seeing it here, at this moment though painted an almost perfect picture in his mind.

"... So that's why this place is her dungeon..." he spoke his thoughts aloud, thinking back to the hideous version of this landscape in the TV world, "... that's... horrible..." It upset him to see such a beautiful sight right in front of him and realise that it was just a ruse made by Yukari's own accord. In fact, it made him sad to think that Yukari had dwelled on these memories for such a long time to this day, especially after hearing the news of Minato's missing body.

Before he could think on it any further, a familiar voice suddenly shouted from a distance behind him. "Hey!" yelled out the voice. At first, Yu was startled by how unexpected it was, but before he turned round, he knew that it was Junpei's voice that was shouting. Expecting Junpei at any second, Yu turned his body round in anticipation for his arrival. But when he searched for him in the distance, he was nowhere to be seen. "Huh?" Yu hummed to himself with a baffled expression, "I'm sure I heard him somewhere..." But then, something even more abnormal began to occur.

The landscape in front of Yu began to move, almost as if it was moving towards him. But he wasn't moving at all; everything, including the coast, the palm trees and the forestry was coming closer and closer to him as the seconds went past. As it did this though, its pace started to speed up and the more he was headed towards the forest, it continued to approach him faster still, until finally it reached a speed where Yu couldn't keep his bearings anymore and began to lose his balance.

A quick second was all it took before Yu suddenly fell over on the spot. But as he landed onto his front with a huge impact as he hit the ground, he didn't feel the comfort of the sand; rather, he felt a marble-like surface when he hit the floor, and a deafening rumbling and screaming noises suddenly pressured inside of his head. All of this happened so fast, and it caught Yu very much off guard; but when he lifted his head to look at what had just happened, a most devastating image was all he could see, and the diabolical havoc erupting around him suddenly alerted him to a standing position.

* * *

><p><em>0810 – Dark Hour - ? ? ?_

* * *

><p>When he looked around him, a hellish sight was all he could see; to him, that was putting it lightly. But everywhere he looked – in front of him, behind him and even below him – the whole landscape could be described in his words, as hell itself. "Whaaa! What is...?! Oh God..." he yelled to himself when he saw the shocking and perilous backdrop around him that contradicted with the previous transition.<p>

When he crash-landed onto the hard flooring, he noticed that it was, in fact, marble, but it had archaic and enigmatic black etchings that were carved in strange patterns and odd symbols. He was standing on a cylindrical platform that stretched far and wide and had crystal white pillars and acted like large jewels on a humongous crown. But what he saw beyond the platform was even more frightening; the platform he stood on was miles away from the ground below, but he could see people running amok, screaming and running in random directions with intentions to run away from something. Everyone looked terrified and seemed like they didn't know what to do. The whole city-like area was sent into a complete pandemonium; Shadows could be seen from where Yu was. They were dotted around the whole urban landscape, chasing and trapping other people, as well as going far as to turning them into their own species of Shadow. Yu noticed the green skies and the green illuminations that reflected off the concrete below, and realised that this was happening during the Dark Hour.

"_Oh..." _he thought to himself, widening his eyes when the penny dropped. _"... this is... the top of Tartarus. What the hell is going on?!"_

* * *

><p><em>0810 – Dark Hour – Tartarus' Peak?_

* * *

><p>When he looked down at the floor, he immediately saw everyone from S.E.E.S including Yukari and Minato, writhing in agony and struggling to stand up; Yu could hear their moans and yells as they tried with all their effort to get back up to their feet. But it looked like something was pushing down onto them. "Guys!" he tried to yell over the overwhelming amount of noise, trying to reach out to them.<p>

But as soon as he held out a hand, even though it would've been useless, a loud distorted crashing sound was heard from the heavens, and the next thing he knew, he was suddenly pushed down to the floor with the others, feeling an incredibly strong force crushing him into the marble; it was like a whole house was being forced down onto his body, pressing against his back until he was flat. "Kyagh! Arrrrghhhh! ARRRRGGGHHH! What the-?! YAAAAAGGGHH!" he cried out, feeling the full brutality of the force that was continuously crushing his ribs.

BGM: Determination - Persona 3 OST

After a while of lying on his front, his bones felt like they were physically about to bend into a whole new shape, and though it took a lot of effort and strength, Yu used everything in his power to roll onto his back, hoping that pushing himself up from that position could get him back up to his feet. But after just a moment of lying on his back, he was forced to look up at the sky and immediately, he saw the horrors that were causing all of this; as soon as he saw it, he remembered what S.E.E.S had told him about the end of the world. Ever since he heard about it, he had his own thoughts on what it would've been like, or what the others saw it to be like. But now it was staring at him right in the face, and he suddenly wished that he hadn't been so curious.

What would've been the moon, retained its Dark Hour magnitude and its sickly shades of green, but everything else was terrifyingly different; its face seemed to have opened up like a cocoon, and its web-like metal covered its insides that linked themselves to the large gaping hole that made the circular-red fleshy section look like a demonic eyeball. But out of that hole came a large yellow beam that reached into a being that floated up to the moon. This body that hovered into the air was hunched over, and it spread its four broadened wings as if it was holding out its arms like a Messiah; the body was as black as night, darker than darkness itself, and resembled so much of a Shadow – only that this being Yu remembered S.E.E.S telling him as the mother of all Shadows.

Nyx.

Yu was truly terrified when he saw this happening, but before he could devise a plan of action, another crushing wave of godly power came crashing down to Earth, pummelling his ribcage as it sunk into his chest with a piercing sensation. He winced, yelled and screamed for relief, losing the ability to even bring up an arm to hold his chest. Only one thought invaded his mind; that he might die just by reliving this memory, even though his physical body was likely to give up on him whilst it was drowning. He was being slaughtered by the goddess of Death after all.

But then, in the corner of his eye, Yu saw a miracle happening before him. "Ngh... huh?! … How is he... doing that?!" he yelled to himself, having not being able to hear himself in his own thoughts. At first, he couldn't believe it, and when he turned his head round to the others, he could see the same reactions of shock and awe emanating from their scared expressions. It took a second glance for Yu to sink in what he was seeing.

There was a person, amazingly being able to stand up when everyone else was down and too weak to even sit up, and no matter how many more waves of unbearable crushing forces were sent down to Earth, he didn't even flinch or notice it. This person was none other than Minato, and as soon as he stood up and faced the moon which came closer and closer to them all with every passing second, Yu remembered what he was told by his peers and pieced together the sequence of the memory. And he came to the conclusion of what will happen next; he was involuntary to watch this all unfold, but he didn't want to. He knew what was coming, and he couldn't bare to watch it.

Suddenly, Minato jumped into the air, but gravity did not bring him back down. Rather, he remained in the air and with a burning determination to end this all, and began his ascent towards the heart of Nyx, leaving behind all that he would have to sacrifice to save them and never looking back; but that was the thing that worried everyone who was on the platform. The risk was too great, too life-threatening. But Yu knew that Minato cared for his friends so deeply that he would give up his life for them. And this was the moment when he did.

"What the-?!" the younger Akihiko cried out, disbelieving everything that he was seeing.

"No! Don't go!" Aigis yelled to Minato, desperately hoping that he would heed her call.

"What is he doing?!" Yukari then shouted, struggling to get up to her knees.

"Dammit! Why the hell can't I stand up?!" a younger Junpei shouted in utter frustration, trying the hardest out of everyone to stand up and help his best friend.

Everyone was calling out to him, pleading, begging and yelling at him to come back to them. But Minato, about to make the biggest sacrifice anyone could make, still didn't look back. Even by the time he was about half of the way across the skies, everyone still tried to call out to him; still trying to stand up and get him back down. But no matter how hard they all tried, nothing was working, and all they could do was watch as their closest friend entered Nyx with a dying wish.

After a while of being crushed and watching a person heading towards their death, Yu held out an arm, reaching for Minato. And as he did this, he could hear a voice of desperation calling out to Minato one last time; it was loud and clear, and it was sobbing.

"Wait... please... we've been through too much together...!" cried out a choked-up Yukari, only able to lift an arm, and got no response from Minato, "... I said WAIT! Come back! YOU IDIOT!"

Yu couldn't watch any of this any more. The trauma everyone was going through; the high chances of a special friend dying a certain death; the chaos and discord that plagued the whole city of Iwatodai into a state of doomsday panic; he just wanted everything to stop. All he could do was close his eyes and hope that it will all just disappear, and as he did this, the noise of the streets, the rumbling of the end, and the weeps and distress calls from his friends suddenly brought him to breaking point.

"STOP THIS! STOP IT NOW!" Yu yelled frantically at the top of his lungs, shouting out in distraught until he ran out of the breath.

* * *

><p><em>0810 – Dark Hour - ? ? ?_

* * *

><p>All of a sudden... silence. The noise, the pain, the tears and the trauma, all dissipated all at once. And as seconds passed by in calmness, Yu felt a warm sensation wrap around his body, feeling a gust of gentle spring wind as it flew by. The only sound he could hear was birdsong that accompanied the sound of a busy city going about a normal day. He didn't open his eyes until he was absolutely sure that he was safe and sound and that there was no sign of panic coming from anywhere; but after a while of uncertainty, Yu removed his arms from his face and took a look at the striking scenery before him. <em>"Please... is it over...?" <em>Yu asked himself in his thoughts, squinting his eyes to the bright sunshine that shone over the area.

The first thing he noticed was that he was on another rooftop, but nowhere near as high as Tartarus was. In fact, the city was only a few stories down. The concrete was of a pale white colour and so was the metal fencing that bordered around its perimeter. Spring blossoms from a nearby tree blew across him in the breeze and the skies were of the perfect blue. "Is this the Gekkoukan rooftop?" he asked himself, having not been in this place before.

* * *

><p><em>0810 – Dark Hour – Gekkoukan High School Rooftop?_

* * *

><p>Everything was perfect, and it was the perfect day. But when he looked across to his right, there was one thing that ruined this happy moment.<p>

"_Everyone... everyone's here." _Yu thought to himself, having a feeling in his gut that something wasn't right. He walked over to them gingerly and the closer he got to group, the more of what he could overhear. He immediately stopped in his tracks when he head the fence being hit repeatedly over and over, and tried to look for the source of the thing hitting it. But when he looked up, he found that it was Akihiko punching the metal, as if he was angry and upset. Then he looked to the others, and he saw the same reactions and the same expressions coming from all of them.

BGM: Because I Will Protect You - Persona 3 OST

He looked in a different direction and he could see Fuuka and Ken on one of the benches that were situated on the rooftop. Ken was crying his eyes into Fuuka's shoulder; she was also sobbing, but she put on a braver face than Ken could. Then he looked in another direction and he could see Junpei with his cap off, trying to console Akikiko even though he covered his eyes and lowered his head, weeping softly into his fingers. Yu looked elsewhere and saw Aigis sitting on the bench with her back turned to him, tearing up with a brave smile on her face. But the very thing that choked him up was the sight of Yukari, kneeling before a body that laid motionless with its head on Aigis' lap; she was hugging Mitsuru and crying harder than everyone else into her shirt.

"No..." Yu spoke out his feelings of sudden devastation, "... no, no, no, no, no!" He didn't know why he was feeling this way about someone he'd never met in person, nor did he know why he should feel this way towards another person's memories, but he couldn't help but feel it, and even though he knew what the outcome was of this memory, an odd and needless sensation inside him didn't want him to believe it. But when he weaved in and out of the group, he approached the body that laid on the bench. And what he saw before him jerked his heart to the point of heartache.

In front of him was Minato, immobile, lifeless and pale. His head laid on Aigis' lap, and next to his corpse was Yukari, weeping into Mitsuru's shoulder and entwining her fingers into Minato's cold hand. Aigis looked on her in sadness, putting a hand on her shoulder to comfort her, even though it wouldn't stop the tears from running. Yu knew that this memory would come, but he didn't expect it to make him tear up; he knew that this was the group's Graduation Day – the day when Minato Arisato died.

"Oh God, no..." Yu spoke to thin air; he knew that no one could hear, and feeling this way in loneliness made it all the more heart-wrenching for him, "... why am I feeling like this...? I never knew him... is this... is this what Yukari wanted me to feel...? Did she bring me here to make me see what it was like for her...?" He sniffled and cleared his throat of the painful choking in his windpipe, and although he asked himself these questions, he already had the answers.

He then walked up to the young Yukari and bent down to her, trying to hold back the tears. "Yukari..." he called to her with a shaky tone, not giving one single damn if she could hear him or not, "... I am sorry... I am so, so sorry..." After giving his sincere condolences, he raised a hand and tried to get a hold of her shoulder, only for it to pass through her transparent body. He couldn't comfort her, nor could he get his words of sympathy through to her, and with that, he swallow hard, trying to rid himself of the lump in his throat.

Then, just as he stood up to face everyone else who was grieving, Yu was suddenly hit with a dizzying sensation that greatly impaired him of any rational thinking. "Nrgh... urrrggh..." he moaned, holding his head and trying with all of his effort to bring back the clarity in his mind. But then soon after, his body started to become numb; first it was his fingers, and then it started to spread to other areas. His breathing strangely became heavier and heavier and the more he breathed the bigger the sudden demand of oxygen was becoming. His head was slowly becoming sluggish and he started to cough, feeling a large pressure on his chest press down on him one at a time.

He then fell back slowly, as if he was gliding softly onto his back; his heels and foot co-ordination were scrambled and despite falling at a very slow pace, he found it difficult to regain his balance. But after a while, his need to stand up completely vanished, and so did the backdrop with it. As the dust particles of the landscape dissolved back into the nothingness, Yu just continued to fall backwards, not having a single care in the world of what was happening; the devastation and the things he had seen had lost him of all comprehension and care for himself. He was just willing enough to fall forever in the void. But just as his body felt like it was about to give in, Yu suddenly heard a distant voice calling out to him.

"_Come on... come on... don't die on me now!" _called out the voice; it sounded exhausted, serious and sombre, but there was also a desperate tone in its calling. And the more Yu fell into the whiteness, the voice became louder and louder and it slowly transitioned from muffled to clear. _"Come on!" _the voice called out one more time, echoing as it was said. But the resonance in the voice increased in volume and increased in clarity. It got louder and clearer still, until...

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><p><em>0810 – Dark Hour – The TV World – Yakushima Beach_

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><p>Yu suddenly woke up in a coughing fit, rolling to his side and forcing out inky water from his throat and lungs; he even had to upchuck some water because of its taste. He frantically gasped for air, and noticed that his breathing became wheezy and croaky. He took deep intakes of breath, but struggled to keep a rhythm because of how cold his body was and how much the urge to cough was. He looked around himself through his sea-stained eyes and remembered where he was and why he was wet and soaking to the skin. He remember how he was drowning and why he had come here. But what he didn't know was how he got out of the sea again. "I'm alive... I'm alive..." he whispered to himself, coughing in between his words.<p>

He used his arms to lift his upper body up from the sand and and he looked around the shore. Immediately, he found Yukari's Shadow to his left, hovering above the ground, still and hardly moving. But then he turned attention to the mess around it, and noticed the group, lying defeated in the sand; some were struggling to move and to tend to their injuries, but most of them were unconscious and just laid there, motionless. "No! Guys!" he cried out to them, hoping that at least one of them would respond. But not one of them did.

Yu tried to get back up to his feet, but a large writhing pain in his chest and stomach immediately immobilised him from moving any further. He tried and tried again, but the pain was too much to bear. But at that same time, he heard another person a short distance to his right; he turned round to face this person and noticed that he was also finding difficulty in recovering his breath. However, Yu couldn't see any features from the boy, apart from that he wore a navy winter coat, he looked almost of the same age as he was, and that he was also soaked through and had ink-blotted stains all around his body. Despite only seeing him for the first time, Yu knew that he and the boy didn't just come out of the ocean just like that; the boy had to be his saviour. "Hey...! Are you alright?!" Yu called out to him after catching some of his breath. The boy didn't respond, even though he was only right next to him."Can you... hear me?!" Yu called out to him again, but still got no response.

The boy only laid there in a foetal position, struggling for air and also groaning in pain at the agony burning in his stomach. As Yu began to crawl over to him to help him out, he held his own injuries and winced with every movement as he made his way over to him. He could tell that this individual who saved his life from drowning suffered almost the same fate and that bringing him back to consciousness under the effects of nearly drowning must've been a very difficult feat. Yu found that he had to help him just as he helped him.

But after only just shifting a few inches, Yu suddenly looked up to find a large, golden fist hurtling down towards him that reached out from a large billow of clouds; startled by this, Yu immediately shifted his arms and pushed himself out of the way, feeling a large quake force his body away from the impact when God's Hand came crashing down onto the sand. Upon landing onto his back, Yu brought his legs up to his chest and used his hands to wrap around his chest and stomach, trying to rid himself of the squirming, agonising pain; along with this, the force of the assault combined with a large whipping of sand, blurred Yu's vision, almost to the point where he couldn't see anything. He looked back to the boy, hoping that he was okay, but due to his partial-blindness, he could only see a navy-coloured figure – he could see no other features.

However, Yu could see two other figures in the distance, and he could just make out their familiar postures and stances, and instantly became enraged when he saw them. "Why is it that, when we put you in the shit, you always manage to get yourself out of it?" one figure said, speaking that familiar tone of contempt, "Lucky, perhaps? Or just so damn annoying?!" And as he spat out his words to Yu, he kicked a dune of sand at him in an attempt to blind him some more.

Yu spat out the sand that entered his mouth and continued to fix his eyes on the ones standing over him with an evil authority. He knew it was the two culprits; their posture, their tone of voice and their behaviour of bullying someone made him sure of that. And when he looked across to find the thing that brought down God's Hand on himself and his rescuer, he saw another grey figure that he once saw before as the Persona, Michael. But it wasn't that; instead, he knew it to be Ardha, another Persona of the Judgement Arcana. After remembering the one who could control tarnished versions of Judgement Personas, he was shocked and even scared of how he could control more than just Michael; if he could wield that particular Persona along with Ardha, he knew that could only mean one thing. "Don't tell me..." Yu said, tasting blood as he continued to cough, "... you can't have the Wild Card as well..."

"Well, since I'm just loving the priceless look on your face right now, I suppose I can spill..." the hooded boy said, clearing his throat in a mocking manner, "... It's not so much a Wild Card; I can wield multiple 'Personas' of my own accord, but only those of the Judgement Arcana. And you've been an expert for long enough to know that the Judgement is one of the big ones in the deck. So in other words, you're stuffed." Yu didn't want to hear any of it; he was in the worst possible position to be confronting against these two, especially when he found a more dangerous aspect to the hoodie's power.

But then, the trench-coat stepped forward. "Since we're on the topic of 'Personas' here, I don't think I've given you a demonstration of what I've got," he said with a contemptuous chuckle, "Let's see if you can guess which one this is..." He raised a hand and used it to hold his shaking head; then, after a few grunts and winces, a sudden sound of breaking glass echoed throughout the area, causing a red mist to erupt from under the trench-coat's feet and rising up with an devilish glow. A few discomforting seconds later, something began to materialise into view.

The summoned 'Persona' was, again grey, tarnished with dark colours and had glowing white eyes that stared directly at Yu, following the same schemes that the hoodie's 'Personas' own; but when its body transitioned from transparent to solid, Yu could honestly say that he had never seen this kind of Persona before.

It had the body of a snake and the appearance of a dragon; it had reptile-like scales running down the front of its body and had snakeskin that went all the way down its back. Its head donned a golden, archaic-styled helmet that had the shape of an eagle's head and had a golden mohawk that resembled to that of a roman warrior's mohawk. As the helmet was layered down its neck, Yu then looked on its small scaly wings that was keeping it upright. And finally, it had two large, elaborate rings – one bigger than the other – that were used by the 'Persona' to weave in and out of with an astounding amount of flexibility. "I can also wield more than one Persona; only those of the World Arcana. This is a prime example of what I have at my disposal." The trench-coat said with a threatening tone, chuckling as he watched Yu struggle to sit up.

"Well... that doesn't... matter..." Yu bravely spoke up, using every bit of strength in his arms to lift his body up, "... the game is up Minato! Adachi!"

Yu couldn't deny his suspicions any longer; he felt that he had enough evidence to finally have the confidence to reveal their identity. He didn't want to believe that either of the culprits were the ones he thought to be. But there was no other name he could give them - the evidence was all too convincing. Upon calling them out though, the culprits looked to one another. "Huh?!" they hummed to each other in unison, but due to the lack of expression, Yu could only think that he had their identities all pinned down.

However, the boys began to chuckle, and soon after, they belted out an evil cackle. "Haha... HAHAHAHAHA!" they laughed and scoffed, looking at one another as if they agreed on Yu's stupidity. The hoodie pointed to the trench-coat. "Did he really just call you that?!" he asked loud enough for Yu to hear, laughing with his partner in crime.

"I know! I know! But... what was it he called you again?!" the trench-coat belted out, using a finger to wipe away a tear of laughter from his eye.

"What's so funny...!" Yu yelled over to the two, livid and frustrated that he couldn't stand up to confront the culprits. The boys, however, could not stop their laughter; but when they did though, they just couldn't take him seriously anymore. Their goal was in sight though, and Yu was in the perfect position for them to go in for the kill to which they made no hesitation to do. "Hahaha... it was a good guess!" the trench-coat shouted, dispelling a few more giggles as he spoke, "But I suppose you could say that you were... half-right for both of us. Though, it's got to be said: you talk big for someone who can hardly stand up. Ouroboros, go!"

Suddenly, the dragon-like monstrosity quickly headed for Yu, slithering around with an amazing speed and precision and eyeing him up with a gaze that was looking to kill. And then, with a speed so rapid that it made Yu jolt in his place, Ouroboros instantly darted its body towards him, swan-diving towards him with its sharp helmet as its weapon. Yu covered his eyes away from the violence and used the last of his strength turn himself away from the 'Persona'.

But...

"No!" cried out a voice that sounded oddly familiar to Yu, "Thanatos!". A sound of metals colliding was then heard, followed by a frightening roar that chilled him to the core; but at the same time, it was a war cry Yu remembered from his time drowning. He immediately turned himself round despite the pain he was going through and looked onto a sight he was grateful to have happened. But even so, it was also a shocking scenery.

BGM: Just Like This... - Persona 3 OST

The tarnished Ouroboros had its head forced to the side, and when Yu looked at the damage on its helmet, he could see that a large slice mark that looked like it was inflicted by a blade of some sort, was the thing that completely knocked the 'Persona' to the side. The thing that caused this though, shocked him even more than the sight of the grey monster, and even though it had its back turned to him, he could remember what it looked like. He saw it once before in the the sea of Yukari's memories, and he would probably see it in his nightmares. And even though it saved his skin, he still felt the need to keep his distance.

It was the same Persona that broke out of Orpheus' body in the memory world; the same one who had a thirst for killing. He was somewhat safe in the knowledge that it was this Persona who counter-attacked Ouroboros, seeing that its incredibly long military blade was extended outwards, matching the marks that were made on Ouroboros' helmet. The voice that cried out only seconds ago called it, Thanatos; a very fitting name for such as hellish being, Yu thought.

But the person who summoned it into battle was standing behind him, holding his arms and legs out, acting as a barricade to protect Yu from harm. He saw the navy-jacket once more and realised that it was his rescuer who saved him for a second time. Yu, however, still didn't know who he was and didn't see anything about him. But just for a moment, Yu thought on it and remembered what happened in the ocean of memories; he remembered that he saw only one person who summoned Thanatos onto the battlefield. He knew, however, that it was impossible; nothing about it was feasible. And to think that he would be here and now, saving him from a certain death, to Yu, was an absolutely stupid thought. He didn't know if it was wishful thinking or just picking out the wrong evidence, but he knew that it just wasn't possible.

"Hahaha! About time you showed a little fire!" the hoodie laughed at the navy-coated boy; it was clear that the culprits knew him and that he had been dealing with these two for some time. However, that was the least of Yu's worries. As he observed the boy further, he noticed that he also had a hood, but even though he couldn't see his head, he didn't have it up. But the one thing that jarred him with an expression of intense shock was that this boy was holding an Evoker in his left hand.

Yu didn't know what to think anymore; it couldn't be one person, but it couldn't be anyone else. He needed a name, and trying to hold back the coughs, Yu looked up to him. "... Who are you?" he breathed his question. At first, he got no response, nor did the boy seem like he noticed that Yu had spoke. But then, out of desperation, Yu pressed on."... Who. Are. You?" he asked him again, demanding for a name.

Yu could see that the boy was deliberately trying to ignore him. But after a pause of silence between the two, the boy sighed and lowered his head some more. "... Tell me!" Yu yelled at him, ordering him with a stern and pressing tone.

And then, slowly but surely, the boy turned his head round. He seemed reluctant to do so, but his face was eventually revealed to him and so were the rest of his features. But when Yu finally saw who he was, he gasped and could hardly believe who he was seeing. In fact, it was the last person he was expecting to stand right in front of him, protecting him and keeping him from danger. He didn't believe it one bit.

It wasn't him. It couldn't be him. It wasn't possible in the slightest that it was him. But no matter how much he thought of this, he was seeing him, standing tall on his two feet and looking down on his with a look of guilt and apology.

The boy standing as his guardian angel looked exhausted and had some cuts on his face; but that didn't obscure the rest of his features. In fact, the face and the hair were the only things he noticed fully; they were the only things Yu wanted to disbelieve. "No... no, it's not you... it can't be you..." Yu said in contradiction and disbelief with a wheezy tone, "... you can't be here..." But Yu was seeing him here and now, and he couldn't deny it anymore.

The boy's indigo eyes look down on Yu in sadness and guilt, but the very thing that Yu noticed about the boy that confirmed everything, was the dark blue hair that obscured one eye. "I'm sorry... I'm really sorry..." the boy apologised to Yu.

Yu was just at a loss for words. But he still didn't want to think that he was here. And there was one reason why.

He should've been dead.

BGM: Burn My Dread – Persona 3 OST

**Could it be...? Is it...? Oh God... IT'S HIM?! HERE'S HERE! Well guys, looks like I've probably dropped the biggest bombshell of them all so far – that is my Christmas present to you! How will Yu come to terms with 'you-know-who' now entering the picture? How will anyone think of it? Looks like we'll have to find out in the next chapter! Anyway, keep reading and reviewing guys, I hope you've enjoyed this chapter, and I dearly hope that you'll look forward to chapter FORTY-FOUR of this story! For now though, I'll just let you all sink this in... CYA! Merry Christmas everyone!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Yu: Are you...? But... you're... what?_

_Fuuka: No, that can't be...! Is that...?!_

_Teddie: But... But... WHAT IN THE HECK ARE YOU DOING HERE?!_

_Junpei: You bastard! Is this another one of your miracles?! Is it?!_

_Chie: But how is that possible?!_

_?: Go, Orpheus!_


	44. The Blue-Haired Boy

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Forty-Four_

_The Blue-Haired Boy_

**Hello again guys, and welcome to another chapter! As the title suggests, someone has most certainly returned, and we'll now be seeing him back in the action! So what happened after the last cliffhanger? Looks like we'll be finding out now! So, without further ado, onto the forty-fourth chapter! Everyone, please welcome back, the one with the blue hair! LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0810 - Dark Hour - The TV World - Yakushima Beach_

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><p><span>BGM: Burn My Dread – Persona 3 OST<span>

For the umpteenth time, Yu scanned his eyes up and down the boy shielding him from harm, but he always came to the same name. The boy could see that he was struggling to come to terms with who he was and why he was here, let alone how he was here. He could tell that Yu had a colossal amount of questions flying around his head, and the speechlessness only added to his difficulty in believing it all. Even though there was complete silence between the two, one name in Yu's mind spoke louder to him than anything.

That name was Minato Arisato.

"Are you...?" Yu asked, interrupted by thoughts that struggled to think of another face. Minato closed his eyes and lowered his head with a sigh, looking back at Yu with eyes that looked for forgiveness. "Yes..." he mumbled with a blunt tone as Thanatos faded away from view, "... it's me. Didn't expect that, huh?" Yu could hear Minato's joking expression behind his saddened demeanour, but this was no laughing matter; they both knew that. They just didn't have the words at all to change the atmosphere. It was all too heavy, all too incomprehensible to make any conversation. "But... you're... what?" Yu asked, frazzled and discombobulated. Suddenly, the writhing pain in Yu's chest began to burn again.

But before Minato could tend to his wound, he realised that the culprits were still standing there, scoffing and with a posture that seemed to belittle him and Yu. "So, you finally had the guts to show your face. You see? That wasn't hard, was it?" the hoodie spoke, catching Yu's attention as he was clutching his chest in agony, "It took you long enough as well! What was it that made you change your mind, huh?"

"Leave us alone..." Minato muttered as he lowered his Evoker, using his other hand to reach into his jacket pocket, "... I'm sick of you both... you wanted this, so why don't you just disappear?!" Suddenly, he pulled the hand out of his navy winter coat and pointed what looked like a pistol towards the two, darting his eyes from left to right so that he could decide who his first target would be. A click and a clack of the reloading gun immediately caught Yu's attention, and as he looked up to Minato, he saw something familiar about the pistol he was holding; he knew the model, the shape, and the length of the barrel all too well. He even remembered that kind of gun being in someone else's hand. The hand of a detective.

"... Huh...?!" Yu yelled to Minato in a recoil, grabbing his shirt as the pain intensified. Everything about that gun was undeniable; it belonged to the only person he knew would carry that kind of pistol. It was Naoto's gun – the same one that one of the hooded culprits stole during the chase around Iwatodai. However, when Yu thought on it, struggling to do so due to the agony he was feeling, he could remember how that hooded boy was wearing a navy coloured coat. And that was when he realised that Minato was wearing that same shade of navy. But that was the least of his worries; whilst he could only clutch at his injury, he listened to what the hoodlum had to say. "Was it that you couldn't bear to see Yukari in the TV?" the hood asked Minato again, mocking and contemptuous, "Then again, knowing your history, it wasn't a huge surprise for us. I guess we plucked the right heartstrings."

"Shut up!" Minato yelled, watching his hand trembling as he brought his finger to the trigger, "I had my reasons... but I've had just about enough of you threatening my friends! I'm not just going to sit by anymore and watch you torture them!" Instead of heeding his warning, however, the culprits just shrugged it off and began to walk slowly towards him with stances that were looking for a fight; Minato didn't know how to react, and Yu could only lie there waiting for what might happen. But when the boys were only a short walk away, Minato quickly brought the pistol into his second hand, bringing his nervous eyes in line with head of the gun, in an attempt to aim as precisely as he could towards the hoodie.

But there were two targets that he could choose; it was either the hoodlum or the trench-coat first. Because of his indecision though, Minato could only point the gun from one to the other, hoping that they would both back off. "Quit flailing that gun about... you might just hurt someone." the trench-coat spoke in his irritating tone of belittlement, halting in his tracks with the hood and standing with confidence.

"Don't think I won't... even if it's something I might regret, I'll be doing it for the ones you've caused pain to!" Minato lashed out, unable to apply any pressure to the trigger. But just when Minato was about to lose grip on the pistol, the culprits let out another laugh of arrogance and apathy towards his concerns. Yu always found that laugh to be the most despicable sound known to anyone present at that moment, and just hearing it then made him so frustrated that he couldn't do anything to shut them up. He could only look on Minato, who was now holding a gun up to the ones at fault but in the way Yu had done before; he could remember his own attempt at threatening one of the boys before, and felt cowardly just thinking about it. But even so, he could tell that Minato had put himself in the same situation. The question remained though, if he was going to shoot or not.

"Well... go ahead then. Shoot us!" the hood spoke again, full of confidence with an unwavering disposition, "But before you do, what would Yukari think of you if you were to kill us?"

"What?" Minato asked, pretending not to know what hoodlum was talking about. He knew that the boy was still playing a mind-game, even though he was staring down the hole of a gun barrel. But Minato couldn't help but feel helpless when it came to answering that question. "Think of it this way..." the hood said with a casual tone that irritated Minato, "... if you were to shoot us right now... and if you were successful in getting her back, which we would find quite doubtful... do you think she would be glad to see a killer who had been pronounced dead for two years?"

Minato couldn't help but find truth in what the boy was suggesting; he knew that the gun in his hand and the bullet he would fire would instantly make him a killer, and at worse, a murderer. He knew his moral codes, but defeating the greater evil was also something that conflicted with his ideology; however, mentioning Yukari as an incentive was something he couldn't tolerate, especially when the hoodlum was acting so arrogantly. "Whatever she might think of me... whatever my friends would think of me... putting an end to you will stop all of this... no more Shadows... no more risks... none of this will happen anymore..." Minato said in a tone of hatred and anger; but that didn't do anything to help his need to shoot. In fact, he couldn't do it at all. He had defeated Shadows and a Goddess before, but he knew that killing a human being was an inhumane act. And it was because of this that he pulled his finger away from the trigger.

"... M-Minato..." Yu called out from behind him, suddenly making Minato's head dart towards him. Hearing his call, Minato immediately walked away from his stand against the culprits and knelt down to Yu's side, placing a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. "Hey, I'm right here..." he said to the fallen grey-haired boy, shaking his shoulder slightly in a friendly gesture.

"... Don't do it... they're... they're not worth it..." Yu forced his words out to him, struggling to speak from the restriction of his lungs and breathing heavily as a result. Heeding to Yu's words, Minato looked back to the culprits, who were still standing in cocky postures, looking down on the two heroes with their hands either in their pockets or behind their backs. He knew that the pistol wasn't the answer, but he had to do something. Anything. But then a thought suddenly sprung to mind.

"No... I won't..." He muttered, slowly sheathing the pistol into his internal jacket pocket. But then after a while of staring them down, Minato then brought his hand into another pocket and quickly took out his Evoker. "But I will do this!"

He suddenly shot up. "Persona!" he cried out as he brought the Evoker's barrel up to the side of his lobe. Then, without any hesitation, he pulled the trigger, ringing out the familiar sound of breaking glass whilst swirls of navy dust and flames of a dark indigo colour surrounded Minato with warm glow. But then, out of the brilliant array of lights came forth a hawk-like figure from the depths of Minato's psyche. Spreading its wings, the bright orange and white colour of its feathers began to show in the light, followed by the silver helmeted hawk head that poked out of the shadows; it had wire-like whiskers flowing down from its cheeks to its pink, fleshy feet. But the thing that stood out the most was the bright blue mane that was ruffled up and flowing in the wind as it hovered. As Yu watched this all unfolding, he could remember the name of the Persona that Minato was bringing onto the battlefield. He knew it to be the one and only Suparna, emerging from the sea of the soul with grace.

"Magarudyne!" Minato cried out again, thrusting his arm forward as Suparna flew high above his head in preparation for a devastating wind attack. And in that moment, when the Persona reached the peak of its height, it then used the power in its wings to whip up an almighty sandstorm, causing a large gale of wind to carry the massive amounts of sand towards the culprits. As the cloudy mass of sand headed towards his targets, Minato could see the boys shielding their eyes away from the storm and, soon enough, disappeared into the mixture of fog, dust and sand.

Whilst the area was covered in the smokescreen of earth, Minato quickly turned himself round to Yu and made his next order to the Persona. "Suparna, Diarahan! Now!" he shouted the command. And immediately, Suparna came down from the skies and hovered over Yu's fallen body, arching its wings to gather its energy. A short moment later, and a brilliant light suddenly engulfed Yu in a warm, healing glow that was slowly relieving him of the pain in his arms, legs and even his lungs. And when the light eventually vanished, Suparna quickly retreated back to Minato's subconscious in a quick spark of light.

"Alright... are you able to get up?" Minato asked as he knelt back down to Yu's side, supporting his shoulders as he tried to get back up on his feet. It was a slow and strenuous process to stand back up for him, but when Yu finally managed to, he immediately turned to Minato; it was clear from his expression that he was still hugely shocked to see the blue-haired boy standing right there in front of him. Nothing about his existence was possible, so he thought. "But Minato..." he said to him, almost speechless to see him, "... how can you be...? You shouldn't even be here- GAH!"

All of a sudden, Yu was clutching at his chest in agony once again. But just as Yu cried out, Minato quickly caught him as he fell forward slightly. He supported Yu with arm holding him around the waist and Yu kept himself up by wrapping his arm firmly around Minato's shoulder blades. "Hang on!" he shouted in reassurance to Yu, pulling out his Evoker again and putting the barrel to his head; he then searched through the sandstorm for any movement, struggling to find any sign of the culprits as he darted his eyes from left to right cautiously. However, as the dust and sand cleared, there was nothing there apart from a large dune that was made by the storm. Minato gingerly looked around him without moving Yu too much and, after a while, stowed his Evoker back into the holster.

"They got away... are you alright?" Minato asked Yu, readjusting his supporting arm in the hope that he wasn't putting pressure on an injury. Yu was still holding his hand on his chest, wincing at every move he was making, and even stepping forward was somewhat awkward. "Y-Yeah... I think so... Argh!" Yu yelled out in agony, hurling his head forwards in reaction to the pain. Minato tried to get a look of where the injury was, and judging from where Yu's hand was placed, it seemed to him that it was somewhere in the ribcage. "Looks like the healing didn't work. You haven't broken anything, have you?"

"I... don't think so. But something... really hurts..." Yu replied, trying to walk it off with Minato as support, "... but I'm not interested in it right now. Just... how are you even here? Why are you alive? And... why did you save me? We don't even know each other..." Minato forced a chuckle, but only to dwell on negative thoughts that seemed to trouble him for a long while. But the expression on Yu's face was also something Minato had no surprise for; there was no way he could be. "But you know my name..." Minato replied, cautious to keep Yu steady as they walked, "... and you've been there for my friends when I haven't been. So I owe you a lot really. But I'll have to explain my situation later; I need to get you to safety."

"No! No..." Yu alerted to Minato as he darted his head to him, "... I have to help them...!" Minato could feel that Yu was trying to walk in the direction where the fallen friends were, but he knew fully well that he was in no way or in any shape to take on a Shadow; he tugged Yu towards the forestry where he wouldn't be able to be spotted. "Not in the state you're in," he retorted, "you were close to be completely drowned... and entering a battle with that pain in your chest will make it worse. You have to rest."

Suddenly, just before Yu was about to argue, two distressed voices quickly echoed in the chambers of their minds. "Yu?! Oh God! Yu!" cried out one voice. "Yu! Oh, thank goodness you're safe...!" cried out another. Where Minato only knew one of those voices, Yu knew both of them and could tell which one was which. He knew that the first cry belonged to Rise and the second belonging to Fuuka; the only two who could possess that kind of power. "Wait... Yu, are you hurt?" Rise asked, sounding as if she was on the verge of tears. It was no small wonder to Yu that she would sound so distressed; he had nearly drowned, almost to the point where he would've potentially died had it not been for Minato coming to his aid.

"I'll be... I'll be fine..." Yu replied, disregarding the magnitude of his injury completely, even though he knew Rise was made known about the seriousness of it by her Persona. He could feel that Rise was thinking that he was reckless, but knowing where he was going, he could only talk. Fuuka's voice suddenly tapped back into their minds, but with a shocked yet confused tone. "W-Wait! Who's that with you...? Was he the one who rescued you?" she asked, at first grateful that the mystery person was there beside him; but just when she was about to thank them, the penny suddenly dropped.

"No... No!" Fuuka cried out, high-pitched, baffled and sounded as if she was on the verge of tears, "No, that can't be...! Is that...? Is that...?!" But no matter how much Fuuka wanted to say his name, she just couldn't. She knew exactly who it was, but like Yu, she didn't want to believe for one second that the person she was sensing was really him. Her thoughts went forward and backward, struggling to finally reach that belief in that certain person who was carrying Yu to safety.

"What?! What?! Who is it, Fuuka?!" Rise asked, desperate for an answer; she seemed somewhat uncomforted just hearing Fuuka so distressed, but it was no small wonder. Fuuka never gave an answer, leaving an ominous silence in the air. But when he knew that he had to say something, Minato took a deep breath and formed the words in his head. "Long time, no see, Fuuka..." he spoke, somewhat casual but still sounding guilty, "... Yes, it's me."

"Ohhh God...! Minato?!" Fuuka cried out in reply, wailing as she called out his name; it was as if the grief of two years had finally caught up with her in one spontaneous moment, suddenly converting itself into a overwhelming feeling of relief, happiness and almost like she couldn't believe what she was hearing. Rise, however, had a completely different reaction. "Who?! Fuuka, what did you say their name was?!" she questioned the name she was calling out; she thought for a moment that it was just Fuuka saying his name out loud just for the sake of making herself feel safe in the situation they were in now. She didn't have any idea how Minato sounded like anyway, so she thought that the voice echoing to them could've been anyone's.

Minato could understand though; so many impossibilities were floating around all at once, and his existence was the thing that topped it all off. "You can see for yourself in a moment," he replied before Fuuka could, knowing that only saying his name wouldn't be enough to convince her; not in this situation, "right now though, I'll need you guys to tell me where you are now. We need treatment for this guy's chest here, and he'll need to be out of sight for now."

"Alright! We're in the forest, but my Persona will lead you the way to us! Just follow the glow!" Rise explained, suddenly ending the transmission, which Minato and Yu assumed would lead to the glow which she spoke of. After a short while of waiting for a sign though, a soft light broke through the silhouettes of palm trees and forestry. It only lasted a short moment, however, before fading back into the shadows of the woods. "Let's get you fixed up..." Minato said to Yu as he slowly led him towards where the light was emanating from. He could see it in Yu's face that he didn't want to sit aside whilst his friends were in trouble, but there was also a look that suggested that he knew that his body couldn't take any more punishment than it already had. All Yu could do was surrender to the pain and allow Minato to get him to safety.

After soldiering through the palm trees and bushes alike, Minato pushed a branch aside, and suddenly, two girls stood before him. One had eyes that were filled with happiness and tears of joy, even though her frown didn't show much of it, while the other had a tall, slim Persona with a satellite dish for a head standing behind her; her expression was of extreme shock and of a huge concern, especially for Yu's wellbeing.

Rise's worried eyes darted over to Yu; the first thing she noticed was how hunched over he was, and the second being that his breathing was quite shallow and quick. She quickly dismissed Kanzeon back into the subconscious and rushed towards him. "Yu!" she cried out, wrapping her arms around his own. She could feel the saturated water in his sleeve and it even started to make her own clothes damp, but she knew that his safety was the priority.

She looked towards Minato, still somewhat unable to believe that he was standing, alive as ever, in front of her. He was expecting more of the same questions Yu had asked him, but after preparing to answer them, she proceeded to say something else. "Oh my gosh... you picked the right time to be alive, didn't you?" she said, chuckling through her tears; it was light conversation and Minato could appreciated it. He hadn't heard a lot of humour lately, and it was good to have a chuckle, even if he didn't fully feel like it, or if he didn't feel like it was the appropriate moment. "Thank you so much, Minato. Thank you..." she thanked him hugely, despite how weird it felt for her to say his name so casually.

"I owe a lot to him," Minato said, shaking Yu's shoulder slightly and making sure that he didn't cause him any more pain, "I'm not prepared to the let the person who's been fighting for my friends die now." Rise could hear the determination in his voice; it uncannily sounded so much like what Yu would say, if not exactly the same. But nonetheless, she couldn't have been more grateful for what he'd done, even if they've never met before.

However, there were pressing matters to attend to. "Alright, we'll need to lay him down. Over there should do." Minato suggested, leading Yu, with Rise supporting him on the other side, towards a small patch of sand stood out from the plantation with a small shrubbery that resembled that of a pillow. Slowly and gently, they placed him down on his back and laid his head on the leaves. Yu winced and moaned as he came down onto the ground, but afterwards, he calmed down and relaxed as much as he could.

Minato was all ready to go back out of the forestry, but before he could make his way out, he was immediately stopped by Fuuka who threw her arms around him and rested her head vigorously on his shoulder. "Minato...!" she called to him as she hugged his recoiling body, "... Oh my goodness... I just... I just can't believe it...!" Minato could hear the wobble in her tone, and before he knew it, he could feel small damp spots forming on his shoulder where Fuuka's forehead was; he knew that they were tears. Not of sadness, but of joy.

In a friendly, welcoming and mutual gesture, Minato hugged her back and gave her a slight squeeze of reassurance. "It's good to see you again, Fuuka. It really is." he said to her as he slowly pulled away from the hug. As he said it however, Yu couldn't help but feel that he saw another look of regret from him; he had thought that it was just a sight from his perspective, but he couldn't think of why he would see such an expression.

No answers came to mind, and all he could do was shrug it off, just in time for Minato to set off. Before he did, however, he approached Yu's almost-broken body and knelt down to him. "Erm... Yu, was it?" he asked, hoping that he had called him by the right name; it wasn't a hard name to remember, let alone pronounce, but Minato wanted to make sure anyway. "That's right..." Yu replied, slightly croaky in tone, "... Yu Narukami." And with his brief introduction over, he held out a hand that offered for a handshake. Minato held his hand out to take a hold of Yu's without hesitation and gently shook it in time with each other.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Yu," Minato answered with a small grin, continuing to shake his hand in a friendly manner, "I don't think I need to say my name, but whatever. My name's Minato Arisato." Like he said, it wasn't necessary for Minato to repeat his name to Yu, but an introduction didn't go amiss; Rise also looked like she needed a bit more convincing, and just hearing Minato say his name roll off the tongue so smoothly without a stammer brought her closer to believing it.

After a long, courteous handshake, Yu gestured his hand towards Rise. "This is Rise Kujikawa. Our tactical support, just like Fuuka." he introduced the redhead who still looked at Minato with a stunned expression. As Minato looked over Yu to see her, he immediately knew who he was; though, he knew her by another name. "Yeah, Risette." he called her by her stage name; though, only calling her that turned her look into a more disheartened one, which Minato instantly saw, "Erm... Rise, sorry... I've listened to some of your music; it's really nice to meet you as well."

"Y-Yeah..." she replied, still astonished, "... I-I'm sorry, it's just that... I'm sorry..." Minato forced a chuckle in acknowledgement. He knew that she was quite speechless as would anyone be, including Fuuka who had just hugged a longtime friend who had been absent for two years. "I understand, don't worry." he reassured her with a nod of his head. Something that also surprised Rise was the fact that Minato didn't make such a big fuss that he was in the presence of a celebrity, but she knew that there were a number of reasons why. But he reacted in the same way Yu did when she first met him, and that was of a completely calm disposition, treating her like a human being rather than a idolised facet which she once regarded herself as. It was as if she was finding this uncanny resemblance between the two. "Rise, do you have any healing capabilities at all?" Minato then asked her, snapping her out of her thoughts. She nodded vigorously. "Yeah, I do. While I'm helping Yu recover, I'll also do a full analysis on what his injury is." she replied with a rush of her words.

"Great. Once we get everyone back to safety, we'll need to get him some medical attention," Minato suggested, speaking with organised thoughts and a tone of authority, like a leader should. He then quickly turned his head to Fuuka. "Fuuka, I'm going to need some support while I'm out there. Can you do that?" he asked her. But before he could get an answer, Fuuka's eyes widened with shock, followed by a rushed question. "What?!" she cried out, feeling somewhat fearful for what Minato was suggesting, "You're going to go out there by yourself?! But it's too dangerous!"

"I know, but we can't just leave everyone else there unconscious. There's no other choice..." Minato replied with logic, but there was something else. As soon as he proposed his plan, there was that same look of guilt and sadness that he wore only moments ago. He looked down at the ground and collected his thoughts before he broke through the silence. "... besides, Yukari... everyone... I haven't been there for you guys when I should've been... and Yukari's Shadow had gone berserk because of me... I have to do this. It's my turn make things right now."

It was in the way he said it that brought everyone's attention to what he was saying; it was as if Minato was hiding something from them, and when they looked to one another, they could tell that they were thinking the same thing; it wasn't just because he knew about this kind of Shadow either, nor was it just because of how calm and collected he was towards the TV world. But in spite of that, it was undeniable that Minato felt some regret towards something, and they knew that whatever he may have been hiding was the cause of whatever was causing him guilt. That much they knew, but they hadn't got the time to ask him about it.

Minato turned back round to Yu after hearing another of his violent coughs. "Minato..." Yu called to him after dispelling more water from his throat, "... please help my friends... you need to help them. You're... in charge now." Minato could see that Yu had finally given in to his agony and only had one more person to put his faith in. He was somewhat surprised for him to give him his rank of leadership after they had only properly met for a few minutes. But then again, Yu knew who Minato was the very start of the investigation and Minato seemed to know Yu after telling Fuuka, Rise and him of how he knew about his interactions with the members of S.E.E.S.

Yu lifted his arm up with some difficulty, and placed a hand on Minato's shoulder. "I'm... counting on you..." he said, forcing his words through his shallow breathing. Suddenly, a huge weight of responsibility fell onto Minato's shoulders, but he felt like he could carry it; he had some making up to do, he thought, and his friends' safety, as well as Yu's friends' safety, were the first priority.

"Don't worry, Yu..." he said in reassurance to Yu as he stood up straight, "... I'll do everything in my power. You just sit tight for now." Giving one last nod to Yu, he spun on his heel and began to walk towards the beach. He stopped to turn his head to Fuuka. "Are you ready, Fuuka?" he asked her, watching her as she took out her Evoker in preparation. She nodded with determination. And with that, Minato took a deep breath and suddenly ran out towards the beach.

He weaved in and out of the dotted shrubbery until finally emerging from the forest, looking around his environment to see where Yukari's Shadow and others were. He looked to the left; nothing. He then looked to the right, and suddenly, he saw the banshee-like figure that was hovering in the centre of a ring of fallen bodies, cupping its sobbing eyes into its hands.

He was mortified when he knew that it was the Shadow of Yukari, having seen a striking resemblance to her. Her hair, her figure, the tone of her shaken voice as she cried; they all belonged to her and there was no mistaking it. For a moment, Minato didn't know how to react, but after thinking long and hard on it, he decided on his approach. He began to walk towards the Shadow as he reinforced the strategy in his mind, slowly turning it into a run when his confidence improved.

In no time though, he was sprinting, desperate to find a way to bring the Yukari he knew back from the berserker state she was in. _"Minato, are you sure you know what you're doing?!" _Fuuka suddenly echoed into his mind, worried and somewhat fearful for what might happen, _"Yukari is dangerous! You shouldn't do this by yourself!" _Minato already knew what he was up against, even though it pained him to think about it; he was about to confront the Shadow of someone he holds very dear, and everything about it put him off completely. But there was only one option for him, so he thought; it was the only option, and he didn't have another other options.

He had to save Yukari no matter what the cost. If he were to be broken by the end of the fight, or even worse, her safety was all that mattered to him, and so did the safety of his friends and Yu's friends. Everyone was a priority.

"I know what I'm doing..." Minato said quietly to the Fuuka in his head, "... I have to do this by myself... I can't risk everyone else taking more damage. And after all... I'm the reason she's here, like this, right now." After he had his say, he could hear Fuuka stumbling in her sentences, trying to find some way of making him change his mind. But after a while, Fuuka silenced herself in defeat, knowing that nothing will give Minato a second thought. And even if Fuuka did have an idea to persuade him, it would've already been too late. Minato suddenly stopped in his tracks and lifted his head up to Yukari's Shadow. "Yukari!" he yelled to her, somewhat intimidated by the Shadow's appearance.

Suddenly, just like that, the Shadow's constant flow of tears and sobs came to a stop. All that was left, however, was the sharp gasp that escaped her throat, echoing throughout the area with a ghastly resonance. The Shadow slowly turned its head round, revealing to Minato the golden-yellow eyes that glimmered its shine on her tear-stained face; it was like she cried a waterfall, literally. But the sight of her distress and devastation that caused her to cry this many tears pained Minato greatly. In fact, just looking at her in this state made him all the more guilty for what he thought he had done to her.

Yukari's Shadow quickly turned round when her eyes widened, gasping again when she tried to hold back another wave of tears. "MINATO?!" she cried out, emphasising the duality in her tone, "You're... You're alive?!" The sound of her voice was so unnatural, so inhumane and so sharp that Minato began to think that he was bearing witness to something entirely different to the Yukari he fell in love with. Her shouting matched that of a banshee, and his eardrums rattled with every word she said. However, despite all of that, he knew that it was just the Shadow showing him these things; underneath was the Yukari he knew, and he knew it perfectly well.

After being asked the same question he had been asked the first time, Minato had the answer. "You know who it is... it is me," he replied, hoping that he could get through to the real Yukari that resided inside the Shadow body, "I'm so sorry, Yukari. I... I don't know what to say... I've caused so much grief to you guys... and look what happened." He looked around himself, feeling the overwhelming guilt grow more and more as he looked down on his fallen friends. As he looked back to Yukari, however, he could see that all she ever cared about at that moment was the sight of him; the unconscious bodies that were lying on the sand around her just didn't occur to her at all, as if she didn't care. This only made Minato more concerned for Yukari's wellbeing. He didn't know whether it was only because the Shadow had gone berserk or that she actually felt that way towards her friends. But at the same time, he could only think that it was his fault for making her think that way if it were true.

"This doesn't need to happen though. The Yukari I know wouldn't do this..." Minato added, speaking aloud his suspicions as confirming them in his head. But those suspicions were one thing; but just when he thought he ceased the anger in the Shadow, Yukari's looked suddenly changed. From a haunting expression of euphoria, the gobsmacked look then faded away as if the Shadow had came to a realisation and dipped her eyebrows with a furious stare.

"No... no...!" the Shadow Yukari shrieked with an ear-piercing cadence, "... Of course... it's not you... why had I wished it...?" And just as she started shedding another wave of grieving tears, Minato could only look up to her in shock. It was a reply he didn't expect; from what she had said, and from the tears she was weeping, he knew that Yukari didn't believe that it was actually her most cherished one, her best friend, and her lover right there, breathing and existing. "What?" Minato asked, almost in a whisper to himself, shocked and disheartened, "No... Yukari, it is me! It's Minato!"

"NO, YOU'RE NOT!" Yukari shouted again, bellowing a burst of wind from her lungs, "You're not him... you're just another fake...! Another one of my dreams! YOU'RE JUST AN ILLUSION! I WON'T LET YOU HURT ME ANYMORE!" The banshee screams from the Shadow were ear-splitting and possibly enough to send a mortal into an unconscious state. But that, however, was the least of Minato's worries. What followed after was close to fatality. As the scream was forced into Minato's eardrums, the Shadow tapped into her power and called forth a Panta Rhei right around his feet. The wind of sickly green colours spun around Minato in a perfect circle, spanning its radius over a large amount of sand, and the more power that was gathered in the gales, the more faster and potent the incoming assault was becoming.

At the centre of the twister, Minato's body was still recoiling from the pain building up in his head from the screaming, feeling the force of the tornado tug on himself to spin to his left. But keeping his feet firmly in the ground, he looked around himself with difficulty watching the white lines of the gales revolve around him like vultures circling its prey.

"_Minato! Get out of there!"_Fuuka cried out in his head, panicking as she was no time to summon a Persona to null the effects of the wind, but after the last second, Minato spun around in any direction he could and leapt for safety, only barely managing to escape the hazard zone.

The attack slowly subsided and so did the screams of the banshee, allowing Minato to get back up to his feet. He had no words, just sadness and shock. And the more he dwelled on Yukari's violent disposition, the more he was losing sight of any sign of Yukari in front of him. "Yukari, stop this!" Minato cried out to her, hoping that any word he was saying was getting through to her, "I'm not a fake! It's really me! You're Shadow's making you think that it's not true!"

"STOP TELLING ME LIES! I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF THEM!" Yukari screeched in reply, still unconvinced and determined more than ever to eradicate the dream calling out to her. Minato didn't know how else to say it to her; there was just no other way he could get it through to her. He was about to make one last effort to open his mouth, until he noticed the Shadow's sudden twitch in her body that forced her to face Ken, who was still lying on the floor totally motionless. Then, as though the unexpected movement made Yukari seem almost deranged and without any control of her movements whatsoever, she headed towards the fallen Ken, shouting and grasping her head like she was in agony as she charged towards him.

"_Stop her before she hurts Ken-kun! He's badly damaged as he is!"_Fuuka yelled in echoes to Minato again, just as he was making his sprint to Ken's rescue.

Yukari was fast, even when she was under the influence of insanity and a blinding rage. But Minato was faster, just barely. "No, Ken!" he yelled out to the immobile Ken, hoping that he would wake up to hear his voice. To no avail, however, Minato had to keep up his speed. He never faltered to do so though; the sight of his lover charging with fury towards a fallen friend was something that spurred him on to resolve the situation, no matter how much he was putting on the line.

It was a close call to say who would get to Ken first, but just as Minato was about to reach him, he looked towards the Shadow and quickly pulled out his Evoker, pulling the trigger as soon as the barrel kissed the side of his lobe. As the indigo auras revolved around him, a Persona with many snake heads and navy shades, known as Ananta, suddenly emerged from the psyche, leaping heads-first towards the oncoming Shadow.

After gaining enough strength in such a small matter of seconds, Ananta collided into Yukari's charging body; the Shadow was knocked to side after a large crash rung out after the impact. It was a sound Minato didn't want to hear, but he knew that it was necessary to save a life which would've been in potential danger if he hadn't done something.

As soon as the assault was complete, Minato picked up Ken's body in his arms, supporting his head as he did so. The first thing he noticed was how much Ken had grown up in the space of two years; it was like he was holding a teenager in his arms, and it kind of made him smile a bit to see him again, somewhat more stronger than he was before, even though he was completely unconscious. There was no time to dwell on the changes though, he thought, and he turned towards his Persona. "Ananta, revive him!" he shouted in desperation.

With a hypnotic sway of its many heads, and with a smooth dance of its snake-like body, Ananta built up a remedial power in itself, gathering its strength as it moved in the way pythons would. After a short while, the Persona called forth a Samarecarm spell onto Ken's fragile body and watched as the healing light surrounded him with a warm sensation. Minato could feel the heat of the remedy passing through Ken's back and in no time at all, he could also feel movement. At first, Minato was nervous, thinking about what Ken might think of him if he saw him; after a while, however, those feelings subsided and he faced the music.

As Ananta retreated back to the mind, Ken slowly, but surely, awoke. His eyes battered awake as if he'd been in a long slumber, but his limbs were hard to move, feeling the aches and pains he felt in his muscles as he shifted. His sight was blurred and squinted, but they focused in on a figure that looked down on him; he could feel the supporting arms of the figure on his back and head and immediately knew him to be his rescuer. But, as his sight cleared, the feeling of safety suddenly turned to shock.

It was the fourth surprised look Minato saw staring up at him, but he couldn't think of Ken making any other face. His eyes were widened until Minato couldn't see the eyelids anymore, and his mouth hung open as if Ken wasn't noticing it. The speechlessness confirmed his feelings. "No way... is it... M... Min...?" Ken asked, stumbling in his words due to an overwhelming happiness that was swelling up inside him.

It would've been the umpteenth time he said it that day, but Minato didn't know how else to say it. "Yes Ken... it's me." he replied, giving a forced smile at the young fighter with an intention to apologise than to greet. Noticing everything about Minato from the colour of his hair to its length, from the way he dressed to how his voice sounded, everything belonged to him; for Ken, it was two years since he'd heard Minato speak.

Ken suddenly jumped up to his feet and threw his arms around Minato, sinking his head into his shoulder in the way a child would. Minato could hear in his right ear that Ken was sobbing, crying tears which he thought to be joyous and happy. What Ken said confirmed it. "W-w-where have you been?! Man... am I... am I h-happy to see you...!" he asked, still pressing his tears into Minato's jacket. As an act to return the gesture, Minato hugged Ken right back, trying to think of something to say. "Hey, Ken..." Minato said, feeling the guilt creep up in his heart again, "... it's been a while hasn't it?"

It was a touching moment, but one that was then interrupted by the sound of chains rattling only a short distance away from where they were embracing. As Minato made a quick glance over Ken's shoulder, he immediately saw the sand in front of him burst upwards, followed by a large link of chains rising up from its impact point like a cobra that suddenly spotted its prey. The chains were swaying in an ominous motion, but before Minato could see it, they quickly darted towards the two, charging towards them in an attempt to do harm.

"_Watch out, you two!**" **_Fuuka yelled in his head once again, almost too late to save them from the chains' harm. But acting on his wits quick enough, Minato grabbed onto Ken tightly and jumped away from the assault. However, that wasn't the end of it; after Minato's landing, he looked behind himself and instantly saw the same chain homing in on him, using the same serpent-like movements to make a second attack.

Just as this happened though, Minato held out an arm, even though it wouldn't have done much. But when the chains' tip was right in his face, they suddenly wrapped themselves around his arm, squeezing it and tightening itself so that he had no chance of worming his way out of it. Minato struggled and tugged at his arm in the hope that something would come loose, but after a while of shaking, nothing was happening. As he was trying different ways to make himself come loose, he could see Yukari's Shadow in the foreground, using both of her arms to pull Minato closer to her.

Yukari instantly began pulling as soon as Minato spotted her and used every bit in her power to drag him into a myriad of pain. However, Minato stood his ground, and when he suddenly felt the tugging, Minato let go of Ken and turned himself around, using his other arm to enter the tug-of-war with Yukari. He could feel himself slowly being dragged by his feet towards her, even though his shoes were digging themselves into the sand.

Ken acted on this and quickly grabbed onto the back of Minato's jacket, using both hands to help him pull him away from what the Shadow had planned for him. Minato and Ken tugged and Yukari tugged right back. Soon enough, both ends of the chains were coming to a stalemate, and Minato needed to do something before his arm would lose all circulation in his blood, let alone be pulled off from his body.

"Gah! Damnit!" Minato cried out as the muscles in his arm were starting to stretch, almost as if they were being contorted into unnatural shapes. He could feel his skin twisting and turning constantly and it was beginning to feel like it was going to rip at any given moment. "Minato! Hold on! I'll get us out of this... somehow!" Ken yelled to Minato with a false sense of confidence, which he found quite admirable. Minato didn't know how Ken was going to get out of the situation he was in just by himself, but his willingness to help his long-gone friend was something he couldn't help but feel touched by. However, Minato knew he had to do something before he would lose his arm as well as put Ken in any more danger.

"Ken!" Minato yelled back to him as he turned his head towards him, "I'm going to need you to let go of me!"

"No! I'm not letting you fight Yukari all by yourself! I want to help you!" Ken shouted in reply, still trying to tug onto Minato's jacket.

"I do want you to help me! But with something else! I have a plan!"

"What's that?!"

"I'll have to fight her by myself, but I need you to revive everyone else whilst I distract Yukari! Starting with the ones who can also help you revive the others!"

"But what about you?! Yukari is really strong! She wiped us all out in no time!"

"I'll just have to brave it out! You'll have to trust me on this! When you revive the others, tell them to head into the forest! Fuuka should lead you guys the way!"

Ken didn't want Minato to face a world of pain all by himself and even after hearing his plan, he still felt the need to help him out. But he understood his concern over everyone else who were in need of revival; he knew that their friends were their top priority. And besides, Ken remembered Minato to be a really strong individual; almost stronger than any of them combined. So with a reluctant nod, Ken prepared himself to let go of Minato. "Alright... let's do this!" Ken answered in a yell once again and awaiting for Minato's next orders.

"Good! Wait for my signal!" Minato instructed, turning his head back towards the Shadow with a burning concentration. He then looked towards the sky like he was searching for a god and called onto Fuuka once more. "Fuuka, search Yukari for any weaknesses! And quick!" he yelled, just as Yukari gave another huge yank of the chains.

"_Alright! Hang on a second!"_Fuuka replied with rushed words, acting hastily to scan Yukari before Minato could suffer any more pain in his arm. Until Fuuka could give a full analysis on Yukari's Shadow, Minato and Ken would have to hold out on their end of the chain and continue to pull on her weight, which was more than strenuous to commit to. Minato's arm was under a crushing pressure from the metal and Ken could hardly hold onto him any longer, but just as both were about to lose all energy, Fuuka suddenly came back with the news.

"_Minato! She's weak against electricity! But the jewel in her horns... it's giving her some kind of protection..." _she explained, warning the two of the Shadow's enigmatic power, _"... I don't know what exactly it's protecting against, but I'll keep looking!"_

"That'll have to do for now! Keep it up, Fuuka!" Minato shouted in reply, before turning back round to Ken. As he did so, the Shadow gave another tug and unexpectedly kept doing so which required more work from Minato and Ken; but the Shadow's strength was starting to build and build, causing both of the boys to begin sliding on their feet again. They dug their feet into the sand, but no matter how hard they tried, they were slowly being dragged towards Yukari.

"Ken! You ready?!" Minato shouted behind him.

"Ready!" Ken replied.

Minato turned his head back round to the Shadow. "Alright! One... Two..." he counted, building up his nerves with every second. He was slightly reluctant to end the countdown, but with a sharp intake of breath, he was ready. "... Three!" he yelled with emphasis as he relaxed all of his weight and beginning to run forwards, using the momentum of the Shadow's pulling to go faster.

BGM: Monster – Paramore / Heartful Cry – Persona 3 OST

Ken let go of Minato's jacket and began to run to the first person nearest to him who had the power of revival. But Minato didn't have time to look back at what he was doing; all he could do was go forwards, towards the Shadow, charging towards her with a last-minute plan in mind.

As Yukari was reeling him in like a fish, Minato desperately tried to keep up with the momentum, and couldn't afford to trip up at this point. When he felt himself unable to keep up, he jumped up into the air and carried on with the assault in mid-air. The force of the Shadow's tugging was so great that it got him to her for the rest of the way. However, just before he was fully met with the monstrosity, Minato quickly pulled out his Evoker once more and pointed the barrel towards his right lobe, pulling the trigger as he did so.

"Persona!" he cried out as he summoned another facet of his subconscious onto the battlefield. The glass casing of his mind shattered as the imaginary bullet came into one lobe and out the other, causing another wave of navy flames to indicate a warning to the Shadow. Gliding alongside Minato came a red-skinned figure that donned pale-violet armour and strips of white cloth that waved in the wind as it flew with Minato. It was graceful in its entrance, but devastating in its power, as is always expected with Koumokuten.

Minato held the only fist he had behind him and Koumokuten did the same, synchronising every move with one another flawlessly. Then, just as they reached Yukari, Minato propelled his fist forward thus causing Koumokuten to do the same, and the Persona's Gigantic Fist crashed into the chest of Yukari's Shadow.

Yukari recoiled as she took the blow and scream out in agony upon impact. At the same time, Minato and his Persona made their landing and the chains on his arm began to loosen until they fell off completely, lying on the sand in a motionless state as if they had lost all life in themselves. Minato checked his arm for any damage and twisted it for further inspection, flexing his fingers as well to check for any breakages. Apart from a couple of minor stretches in his skin, there was nothing wrong, but the pain still remained.

Shrugging it off though, he looked up to the stunned Shadow and planned out his next attack. The Evoker pressing against his head was there before he knew it, and the finger clicking the trigger was there before he could think about it. "Change!" he cried out as he watched Koumokuten retreat back to the mind once the bullet was shot.

The indigo gales revolving around him roared as the next Persona was entering the fight, standing where Koumokuten was before returning to the sea of the soul. In its place was a big muscular figure who wore greek-styled clothing, complete with a golden viking-like helmet that covered its face and with horns that matched the colour of its long, grey hair. Thor stood behind Minato with the signature hammer at the ready, and as the God of Thunder, there was one attack which would give Minato the advantage.

"Ziodyne!" he yelled in command, focusing his eyes on a good point to send the electricity through. As he called out for the attack, Thor crouched slightly in a swift gathering of strength before thrusting its heavy stone hammer into the heavens, calling onto the gods above to deal the critical blow.

A rumble of thunder and a few flashes of light later, a thick bolt of lightning suddenly crashed down onto the Shadow, stabbing at her multiple times, over and over again. But when the final, true attack bolted down towards Yukari, the unexpected suddenly happened. As the bolt crashed down to earth, it didn't damage the Shadow whatsoever; rather, it ricocheted cleanly off of Yukari, and then to make matters worse, it then darted itself towards Minato. The speed of the bolt was literally too fast to dodge – it was the speed of light, literally. But then, as if Minato's sudden reaction made it happen, Thor flashed out of view and then came back onto the battlefield, standing in front of him to block the electricity.

The bolt struck Thor with a voltage that would've been life-threatening to Minato had it not come into its path. The yellow and white colours spitting and sizzling around Thor's body looked almost painful to watch, but it didn't hurt the Persona nor Minato one bit. Still, Minato couldn't work out why the Ziodyne attack had done that in the first place. It made no sense that a Shadow weak to electricity could repel it.

"Huh?! What's going on?!"Minato asked himself, dismissing Thor back to the psyche when he knew that any more electrical attacks weren't going to work. But then, when the confusion was settling in, Fuuka's voice suddenly resonated back into the chambers of his mind. _"I found it!" _she notified Minato in a shout, somewhat sounding sheepish for being a bit too late to give the verdict, _"The jewel on her horns... it's completely protecting her against anything electricity-related and all other elemental attacks will do far less damage!"_

It wasn't the news Minato wanted; in fact, everything he heard only disheartened him by a large margin. However, Fuuka wasn't finished. _"Yukari's main weakness is that jewel! If you can destroy it, all of her protection will go with it and elemental weaknesses will return to normal! The Gigantic Fist you used earlier on seemed to have made an impact, so use physical attacks only to weaken the jewel's power! You'll have to keep attacking though; the jewel will keep restoring its strength after a while!"_

"Alright! Thanks, Fuuka!" Minato shouted out to the voice in his head before turning his attention back to the Shadow, "I'll just have to whittle her down bit by bit..." He didn't find any comfort or any pleasant feeling saying that, but it was something that needed to be done, had it been said or not. He took a fighting stance and took out his Evoker with his left hand. He then reached into his jacket again with his right hand and unsheathed his trusted blade; the same one with the tip that had the slight drip of crimson blood on it.

But before he could do anything with either of his tools, he suddenly heard a high-pitched, almost cartoony voice crying out from behind him, and the more he listened to it, the more he felt that the yells were getting closer and closer. "Yooooossssukeeeee!" cried out the voice that wobbled and alternated in volume. Minato suddenly turned on his heel to see what was heading towards him, and as he did so, he could hardly believe what he was seeing.

He saw a round figure flying through the air, twisting, turning and spinning almost uncontrollably as whatever he was seeing was airborne. The comedic tone in his voice definitely belonged to the round furry ball that was heading towards Yukari with an intention to save a friend, most likely. But as it was hurtling closer and closer towards the Shadow, Minato could see the colours of red, white and blue, mixing with one another as he spun and as it got closer still, it looked so much like a costume.

However, the round fur ball, whoever was in it, suddenly lost his momentum and crashing down onto the sand, immediately beginning to roll at the same blinding speed that he was going. As this happened though, he started to lose his course and began to roll into kinds of directions, rolling up and over multiple sand dunes and turning left and right without intention into more dunes still. This lack of control on his rolling eventually started heading straight for Minato. "Whoawhoawhoawhoawhoawhoawhoa!" cried out the talking costume again, as if he had noticed Minato standing right in his path, "Look ooooout!"

"Wha – ?!" Minato yelled out when his wits were suddenly tested. In a sudden confusion, he had two options; he could roll to the left or roll to the right, with each option providing his escape from the out of control rolling costume that was homing in towards him. But due to the urgency and the unexpectedness of the situation, Minato's feet were going one way and then the other. The decision, however, was made just in time for Minato dodge whatever was heading his way. Minato quickly leapt to his left and rolled for good measure, suddenly standing back up to watch what was about to unfold.

As the rotund ball full of yells passed Minato, it was then back on course towards Yukari, even though Minato couldn't see that it was within the intentions of the one hidden in the costume. Nonetheless though, the clown collided with the Shadow's body, not doing any damage whatsoever due to the softness of his costume, but did manage to push her back quit a distance from where Minato was standing.

The fur ball was launched into the air after partially rolling up the Shadow's body and the rolling and spinning suddenly came to a stop, but not entirely. "Whaaaaaaaaaaaa!" the talking costume yelled out again. Minato watched this all happen, and when he was trying to get a better look of who or what nearly ran him over, he could see a few more features. His eyes were big, again cartoon-like, with large pearl-styled googly black irises that suddenly went small as if the figure suddenly underwent a feeling of shock.

But the things that stood out for him the most were how bear-like his limbs and head were when he saw them. Minato had to blink twice in case he thought he was going crazy; he was hoping for some company, but to see a living bear costume save him in the most comically appealing entrance possible was starting make him believe that he was seeing things. However, what happened next made almost confirmed it in his head that he was hallucinating.

The animated bear costume had flown so high that he even had time to regain his balance in mid-air, but what he did next was beyond incredible, at least to Minato. His arms suddenly became floppy and loose, and Minato wondered if it was the person inside the bear fur slipping their own arms out of the sleeves, but for what reason, he didn't know. That was until he heard that familiar sound of glass shattering and saw that same image of crystal shards flying out of the bear's head as if he had summoned their own Persona by retracting their arms from the sleeves and grabbed an Evoker from the inside of their costume before they could land. But that was exactly what happened.

A short moment later, and a Persona that donned the style of its host quickly materialised into view. It was like an anime character from a children's show but many times more over-the-top, and its face resembled that of a dartboard but with more extravagant colours when in fact, the body of the Persona looked so much like a missile wearing a red cape. It was bonkers to look at, but at the same time, Minato was strangely starting to believe what he was seeing.

The final step in the bear's move, however, tops off every bit of crazy that had happened in that short space of time. "Kamui! Go, go go!" the bear called to his Persona, urging it to make its way towards the Shadow to deal the attack he'd been planning all along. Immediately heeding to the bear's command, the Persona glided with the speed of a rocket and charged head-first towards Yukari, not even showing any sign of stopping.

The distance between the Persona and the Shadow was so small that Kamui's attack began and ended almost simultaneously; there was no time to dodge, nor to block, nor to make a counterattack. And because of it, the Persona crashed into Yukari's body.

Suddenly, like the missile it was, Kamui's body let off a massive explosion, causing a red-orange blast of fire to erupt from the Persona's outer exterior; of course the Persona was still intact, but the impact of it's headbutt was enough to make a mushroom cloud form around Yukari and it even made Minato's face heat up from such a large distance away.

He was quite shocked to see it happen, not just because it was all so unexpected, but also because Yukari was caught in that explosion; however, as the black smoke cleared from the air, he could see that the Shadow was still standing, stunned and almost shell-shocked from the explosion. Minato didn't know whether to feel relieved or dispirited by the situation, mainly because of the fact that Yukari had survived such a devastating attack and that her Shadow did as well.

He looked back around to where the bear landed and immediately saw him rolling towards another fallen body that lied motionless in the sand. Minato then looked over to that same person and immediately noticed the ginger hair colour as well as the bulky scarlet coloured headphones he was wearing around his neck. Minato remembered the name the bear was calling for when he was making his rolling charge towards the Shadow. Someone named Yosuke. He had a thought that the ginger guy was called by this name.

"Kamui, Kamui! Wake Yosuke-san up!" the bear called to his Persona again. And just like that, Kamui instantly came to his lazy side and hovered above Yosuke with its head lifted up to the air. The familiar light of revival wrapped around its body like a beacon and as soon as the Persona was ready, it flowed its healing energy down onto the fallen Yosuke, seeping the swirling light of remedial powers into his body like he absorbed it.

All of a sudden, Yosuke shot up into a sitting position and needlessly gasped for air as he awoke from his unconsciousness. "Wha – ! W-Wait... I'm alive!" he cried out, happy to have woken up from what seemed like an evermore slumber; he then turned to his animal friend and smiled, "Man, am I glad to see you, Teddie..."

It was quite relieving to watch, but Minato knew that there were more pressing matters, especially when he saw Yukari making her move once again, this time with her own charging attack. See this, he knew he had to do something, and fast; Yosuke and the now-named Teddie, were sitting ducks and they had literally no clue of what was coming towards them. "Oh no, no, no!" Minato whispered to himself, entering a sprint towards the two strangers.

"Hey! Watch out, you two!" he then yelled to them, hoping that he caught their attention with enough time to spare. Fortunately, they noticed the cry from afar and turned their heads towards the voice in the distance. Even though the fog was thick where they were, they squinted just enough to see Minato coming towards them with his Evoker in hand. At first, they didn't know who he was nor why he was here, and after a while, they still didn't know. But then their attention was brought to the Shadow that was gliding towards the two sitting ducks. And all of a sudden, they panicked.

They were frozen stiff in place, and all they could do in that moment of peril was scream as loudly as they could, turning their heads away with arms shielding their faces away in the hope that it would dull the damage, which even they knew would be impossible. But luckily, their guardian angel was drawing nearer.

Minato used everything he had in his legs and alternated his eyes between the friend and foe to see how far or close he was to saving the two or not. This would've been the third time during the fight that Minato had to face another situation like this, where it was anyone's guess whether the enemy would get their first or himself. The answer would present itself in the next few seconds.

Like it was the last leg of a marathon, Minato put every bit of effort into his sprint and he raised the Evoker to his head once more. And pulling the trigger without hesitation, he called unto another Persona. "Alilat, buy me some time!" he shouted as the winds of the soul surround him with a warm touch, thrusting itself forwards as the black plinth of red Islamic symbols, known as Alilat, materialised onto the sand, doubling the speed Minato was sprinting at with spinning motions that made it look like a spinning top.

It was a close call, but before Yukari could reach Yosuke and Teddie, Alilat suddenly came between them, spinning on its point and darting itself around the area in front of the two so that it could cover every inch of the Shadow's path. Due to the sheer speed the Persona was spinning and rushing at, Yukari suddenly came to a halt, which was Minato's intention. However, the Shadow quickly devised a new attack and revealed what looked like another set of chains from the sleeve of her tattered white cloak. It was when Yukari stabbed the chains into the sand below her that Minato finally managed to reach Yosuke and Teddie. But he still needed to sprint, because common sense kicked into his thinking and urged him to get the two out of the hazard zone.

Fortunately, Yosuke and Teddie had managed to pick themselves up onto their feet, but after seeing the chains wriggling and worming their way into the sand dunes, the sight of it only made them freeze with panic once again and could only muster enough strength in their legs to slowly walk backwards. They just stared up at the Shadow, horrified and scared of what it might do to them next.

But before they could blink, they were suddenly tackled from the side by Minato, pushing them out of the way of what was coming for them. And at that same time, a large wave of sand spewed up from the ground like a geyser and the chains controlled by Yukari followed suit, rising up from the sand with a deadly intention to do harm.

Yosuke and Teddie's teeth were still gritted from the amount of shock they had gone through, but after being saved by Minato, they both gave a huge sigh of relief. The three rose to their feet and dusted themselves off of the sand. "Ahh man! Aren't we glad you're here!" Yosuke said with a wobbly tone, paying attention more to his dusting than to Minato. Teddie was still equally petrified. "Y-Y-Yeah! Oh man, Yukari-chan has gone all grizzly!" he cried out his usual melodramatic voice.

"Well... at least you guys seem okay now." Minato replied, still trying to catch his breath from all the running; he was slightly hunched over, and when Yosuke turned to look at him, he still hadn't noticed who it was. "Hey... we don't know who you are... but man! You did us a huge favour there-" Just as Yosuke was making his speech of gratitude, he put a hand on Minato's shoulder and lowered his head to get a good look of his saviour's face. The face he saw seemed to have shocked him more than the chains did.

"MINATO ARISATO?!" Yosuke cried out in an outburst, suddenly alerting Teddie who now had the same reaction.

"WHOWHATWHEREWHENWHY?!" Teddie yelled out with an overwhelming disbelief clouding his thinking, so much so that he merged all of his questions in one jumbled sentence, "M-M-M-M-Minato?! But... but... WHAT IN THE HECK ARE YOU DOING HERE?!" Minato could only recoil in surprise of how gobsmacked Yosuke and Teddie were; they said his name so many times that he couldn't even get a word in. Their reactions easily topped the others he's heard of so far.

"Guys, guys! Pipe down! Now's not the time!" Minato shouted over their rushed questions and gestured for them to quite down. Immediately they did, but not by Minato's command. Instead, they all saw silhouettes of chains hovering above their shadows on the ground, and they could only perceive what was going to happen; the serpet shapes of the shadows were haunting to look at, and if they were to look above themselves, they were in for something quite fearful.

Though they did look up, and there they were; a myriad of chains staring down at them with the appearance of pythons. One link of chains suddenly darted towards Minato, only to be dodged with a quick step to the side, but only just. The chain stabbed itself into the sand once again and squirmed to find its way out, but whilst it was doing that, another couple of chains made the same attack on Yosuke and Teddie. Yosuke quickly followed what Minato did and Teddie just jumped away, falling clumsily onto his side in the process. Soon enough, every other chain was joining in with the assault, falling onto the three as if it were rain.

"JUST DIE! DIE, YOU FAKE!" Yukari screamed, aiming her words at Minato with a belief that still clouded her judgement. Minato didn't have any time to reply; he was focusing his full attention on dodging the incoming chains that coming at him and the other two like hungry cobras. They evaded all they could, jumping left, right, forwards, backwards and making random leaps when they were in sticky situations. Some attacks managed to hit, leaving a lasting pain wherever the hits landed, but for most of the time, the precision and timing of their jumps had stopped them from taking a lot of battering.

After only a while, however, the three were starting to tire out from all the dodging, and they knew that they needed to do something. Minato was the only one to have been on his feet the whole time, but for Yosuke and Teddie, there was just no energy left to even stand up; all they could do was roll, push on the ground at time, and even make funny shapes just to avoid getting hit.

It was clear that the two were extremely preoccupied to make up a plan to stop this, so Minato had to take initiative. Though, due to the distraction and utter concentration on staying alive, there wasn't a lot of space to think of a fully fledged plan. So there was only one thing for it, and that was to improvise.

"Hey, you guys!" Minato called over to Yosuke and Teddie, still in the process of remembering their names, but hoping that they heard him over the large rattling of chains, "She's after me, so I'm going to distract her! That'll give you a chance to go on the offensive! Physical attacks only, alright?!" He was worried for a moment that precious time was wasted since it was taking a long time for any one of them to answer him. But after a Yosuke came onto his back, he nodded vigorously. "Sure thing, but hurry!" he yelled in reply, putting emphasis on his words when he had to dodge, "I don't think I can take any more of this!"

Minato could hear the desperation in his voice, and it urged him to resolve the situation as quick as he could. Without hesitation, he dodged one last chain before making his move through the forest of bulky metal, side-stepping and leaping from left to right as the many chains came onto him like thrown spears. He noticed that they were coming further and further away from Yosuke and Teddie and were now heavily focused on Minato; something which frightened him a little. But the closer he got, the closer he and the two other strangers were able to stop this constant punishment.

It was slowly getting to the point where the amount of chains were starting to impact heavily on Minato's energy. He took out his blade and began to swing it when there were any chains near, whether they were coming towards him or stuck in the ground. Like cutting through forestry, Minato slashed and sliced his way through towards Yukari, and after enduring another wave of metal crashing down around him, he eventually saw the Shadow in his sights.

But just when he was about emerge from the danger area, Minato suddenly felt something grapple onto his ankle. It couldn't have been anything more than a chain, and when he looked down at his foot, he was right. Just like with what happened with his arm, the chain wrapped itself around his limb at least ten times over, and it held onto him with a grip that made it almost impossible for him to pry himself out of.

He noticed that the chain was pulling and that it was trying to drag his foot into the ground; before it could move any more towards the hole in which the chain was stuck in, Minato placed the tip of his sword inside a small crevice that exposed just a bit of his ankle and was careful to not cut himself with it. Then, as he was pushing it like a lever, he tried to pull his foot out of the chain. However, no matter how much he tried to pry the animated chain free of his ankle, the metal just tightened its grip by itself and left no opportunity for Minato to break himself free. After a few more tries, it was clear to him that he was stuck. And that was bad. Very bad.

"Minato!" cried out a voice from behind him. As he turned around, he could see Yosuke and Teddie flailing their arms in the distance; there were two Personas stood behind their respective host and they seemed like they were prepared to make an attack. Though, after seeing Yosuke and Teddie's worries expressions, Minato knew that it wasn't good news.

"You've got to get out of there! We can't attack otherwise!" Yosuke yelled in warning to Minato. If it was a warning and if Yosuke had mentioned it when Minato was still quite a distance away from Yukari, then it was probably going to be a huge attack, which made Minato quite concerned. But at that same time, it was oddly comforting for him to know that Yosuke and Teddie, two people he'd never met before, were holding off an assault for the sake of his safety. However, Minato couldn't take the chances of escaping the chain and bringing the fight back to the two. It was just too risky.

But that was when Minato was willing to make a trade; that he would swap one risk for another. He was quiet for a moment to think on what he was doing, but then turned his head back to the two foreign Persona-users. "No! You'll have to do it now!" Minato commanded with sternness, somewhat urging them to do what they had to do, "I've got Yukari here, but she's pulling me into the ground!"

"But what about you?!" Teddie called to him with fright in his googly eyes, "If we do it now, you'll bear-y much be in trouble!"

"That doesn't matter! If it means to save Yukari...!" Minato yelled back, desperately gesturing for them to make the attack. Nothing more needed to be said; Minato had made his feelings very clear and Yosuke and Teddie could literally say no more to convince him otherwise. It was also true that leaving the attack too late would completely waste the opportunity, and Minato also made it clear that whether or not they made their move, he would get hurt either way. "After you're done, head towards the forest!"

Through that logic, Yosuke and Teddie looked to one another and nodded reluctantly, almost as if their second thoughts were fighting against their plans. However, they couldn't afford to waste any more time; every second that passed was a second closer to Minato facing an unnecessary world of pain. "Alright Teddie..." Yosuke hesitantly said to his cohort, "... Junes Bomber?!"

"Y-Yeah! Let's gooooo!" Teddie yelled in reply, copying Yosuke's fighting stance with uncertainty in his bear brain. All of a sudden, the two Personas moved to their hosts' commands and spun with each other to finally signal their incoming assault.

Minato could only watch everything unfold, and after tripping up on the chain, things were only going to get worse. He fell over onto his back, but before he could even attempt to get back onto his feet, two more chains suddenly erupted from the sand and criss-crossed themselves over his chest. All of a sudden, Minato couldn't even lift off his back due to the amount of force the chains were acting on him, and it dawned on him that he was completely stuck. His shoulders were being pushed to the sand and he could feel them sinking into the ground; his whole body was almost completely immobile. The only limbs he could move were his right leg, the lower halves of his arms and his head. However, there wasn't enough function in his body to do anything. And that was a problem, especially when Yosuke and Teddie were about to pull out all the stops. Even if he did have any other way to escape, it would've been too late.

As he was struggling to get out of the Shadow's grip, something metallic, other than a chain, suddenly crashed down a fair distance away from where Minato's head was. It sounded like a small object due to the high-pitched vibration it made upon hitting the sand. And as Minato turned his head towards the thing that nearly sliced into his forehead, he could see that it looked nothing more than a shuriken. But it was the very clue that made him realise what Yosuke and Teddie were planning.

Minato suddenly looked up and immediately saw the horror before him. What seemed like hundreds of shurikens and knives wrapped with strips of bandages were falling out of the sky like it were a meteor shower, and Minato couldn't have been in a worse position when it happened. In almost no time at all, the shurikens were already landing where they fell; he knew that it was meant for Yukari, and most of them were making an impact on her, but many more were landing around him. Some didn't even go near him and some got too close. But fortunately, none had manage to hit him. It was somewhat of a miracle for Minato, little did he know that the worst was the come.

As soon as the shower of shurikens ended, something else suddenly dropped down from the sky. Minato had to squint through the fog just to see what it was, but from the silhouette coming towards the ground, he could see that it was big. Really big. Massive. Gigantic. And a few seconds later, he saw how gigantic it was as a huge bomb-like sphere landed softly onto the sand, right in front of Yukari. But right to the side of Minato.

What he was was, in fact, a bomb, and Minato only knew that because of the huge words in animated red letters saying 'BOMB' was on the front of it. And then, even more strangely, Teddie's face and build was the shape of the bomb and the more the over-sized fuse on top of his head was fizzing, the more the Teddie on the face of the explosive was struggling to contain the huge blast that would've imminently followed through, puffing its cheeks out as if it were keeping it all in. But it didn't matter, because Minato knew that the bomb would explode at some point, regardless of how much the face was stalling it.

All Minato could do was just lie there with his head turned away from the bomb, hoping desperately that the blast radius wouldn't reach him; that he would survive the explosion whether he was badly injured or not after the attack. He knew he wanted Yosuke and Teddie to do this, and he still thought that it was the right thing to do, but when this was all unfolding before him, he was starting to have his doubts, with his confidence now shattered.

But then, just when Minato was about to sink any further into the sand or suffer another second longer thinking about what might happen to him, a stroke of luck suddenly presented itself.

He could feel the chains on his chest and his leg being stretched and tampered with, and afterwards heard a strained voice, breathing hard and like the person it belonged to was going through a lot of effort ripping the chains apart. Minato opened his eyes and darted his head towards the person trying to save him and immediately saw another familiar face, sweating like he usually did, and pulling a face that showed complete concentration like the look of a fighter; but that was exactly what he was and Minato knew it, even though he couldn't see his face all that well in the fog.

With his fists that covered his knuckles in a strong metal, the grey-haired boxing captain which Minato remembered so well, the figure broke him free of the chains and threw them to the side as soon as he was finished punching. He then quickly held out his hand and grabbed Minato's shoulder with a mighty hand. "C'mon! Hurry!" he shouted to him as he violently picked him up, using the same arm to push his shoulder. They both ran with one another away from the explosion and never looked back; Minato was more than grateful that he had come for him, and he was even more happy to see that it was the same fighter he knew who came to rescue him.

Finally out of the forest of chains, sprinting was a much easier feat, and now being in the open, all they could do was just run. Then, just when they've escaped the threat, their eardrums suddenly bursted to the loud explosion that suddenly went off from behind them. First it was the noise, then it was slight clearing of fog that was causing by the pressure of the bomb, and then finally, that same gale kicked them in the back, launching them forwards with a huge force that gave them a face full of sand. As the loud bang resonated throughout the coast, so did Yukari's banshee cry; a noise which didn't make Minato any more comfortable than he was.

They both quickly turned round to look at the damage and immediately saw black smoke surrounding the whole area; sand whipped up and mixed with the smog and the chains dropped down, one by one, as if all life was completely lost from their metallic bodies. All was silent and the clouds of the explosion were the only things left moving.

Minato turned round to the one who saved him and, even though he was grateful to have seen him, he didn't know whether to smile or not. "Akihiko..." he called to him, holding mixed feelings of happiness and, once again, regret. The boxer who was indeed Akihiko Sanada, turned his head to Minato and smiled, chuckling a bit when he saw him. He shook his head as if shaking off any disbelief he had and picked himself up to his feet. Minato then followed suit, and before he could dust himself off, Akihiko pointed a stern finger at him.

"You." Akihiko said with a surprisingly angered tone, somewhat sounding like he was about to scold Minato. He kept constantly pointing at him, as if he couldn't literally put his finger on him; he turned his head sideways with a look that suggested disgust and of vague anger. Minato could understand; he could only think that there would be no other reason for Akihiko to look at him in that way.

But then, as Akihiko was walking slowly towards Minato, he suddenly held out his hand to him, like he was offering a handshake. Minato only looked at the hand, and the more he did, the more he was realising that a handshake was what Akihiko was wanting. "Minato Arisato," Akihiko said, growing a smile on his face, "it is good to see you again!"

And with that Minato took his hand and shook it firmly, but not as firm as Akihiko was. The excitement of seeing him again made Akihiko's actions more over-the-top than they usually were, and Minato nearly suffered a bruised hand because of it. As they both shook hands, Minato could only look at Akihiko and see that there wasn't a lot of surprise there; from all the shocked faces he's seen so far, his expression was quite calm and collected, even though he seemed genuinely happy to see him.

"Ha... it's been a long time, hasn't it Akihiko-senpai?" Minato greeted, somewhat relieved from the change of Akihiko's expression. The former boxing captain shook Minato's hand some more before using his other hand to place a hand on his shoulder. It was quite an aggressive gesture, but he could see the friendliness in the act. "You have got a LOT of explaining to do, you know that?" Akihiko asked, somewhat rhetorically. Minato didn't know how to reply. He could've answered with a simple 'yes', but before he was anywhere close to saying it, Akihiko just chuckled and slammed his hand again on his shoulder.

Unfortunately, the reunion between the blue-haired boy and the Senpai was short-lived; the smoke and smog eventually cleared and after a while of having to squint through what was left of it, they could see that Yukari's Shadow was still standing strong in the distance. Minato could see that the jewel was heavily cracked in places thanks to Yosuke and Teddie's explosion, but the more they waited for the next move, those cracks would just repair themselves overtime.

Akihiko and Minato took their stances and fixed their eyes on the Shadow. "Looks like Yukari still hasn't let up. I bet fighting her must've been fun, huh...?" Akihiko asked, genuinely sympathetic about what Minato's feelings might've been the whole time he'd been fighting her. Minato just forced a grin, not showing a single sign of enthusiasm in the smile. "Yeah, I can tell..." Akihiko answered the question, knowing Minato's thoughts too well to just shrug off. But after a while of dwelling on it, Akihiko spoke again. "I hope you remember how to use that Evoker."

"Don't you worry about that." Minato replied, still fixating his eyes on Yukari.

"Good. We desperately needed the extra muscle. Does she have any weaknesses?"

"Weak to electrical attacks. But we won't be able to use anything elemental until we destroy the jewel on the horns. It's giving her protection against all spells."

"So, what's the strategy then?"

"We can only use physical attacks to attack the jewel –"

" – And it'll heal itself overtime if we don't attack as often?"

"Y-Yeah. That's right."

Minato was quite surprised at how Akihiko had managed to spot the jewel's capabilities without having been told beforehand, and Akihiko only scoffed when he looked at him funny. "I'm a trainee police detective now." he said bluntly, as if that was the only thing that needed to be said. Even though it was briefly said though, Minato instantly understood. But there were more matters to deal with than Akihiko's occupation. "Well, we shouldn't waste any more time if we want to get rid of that jewel. Let's go!" Minato urged, running with the boxer beside him.

All a sudden, after only taking a few steps, the two jumped at the sound of gunshots being fired in the distance. Bullets went off one after the other and they echoed loudly throughout the corrupted beach. The stopped in their tracks to determine where it was coming from, but after only a couple of shots, they could hear that it was coming from where Yukari was. And when they saw the Shadow moving in violent actions, they knew that someone was fighting with her.

They both quickly made their way across the sand in a sprint and made their way through the remaining smog before finally getting back into the fight. When they arrived, Minato could see a figure in the distance firing bullets from what looked like a small pistol. From afar, it seemed to Minato that it was a boy firing the shots, but as they kept moving and dodging Yukari's attacks, he couldn't decide what gender the person was. However, he could see that they also had navy coloured hair, but slightly shorter, and that they were wearing different shades of indigo to go with it. They wore a blue cap, resembling to that of a police officer's cap and clothes were quite masculine, which baffled Minato as to why he had trouble thinking that it was a boy.

"Naoto!" Akihiko called to the figure. It was then that Minato realised that they must've been another of Yu's companions. With that in mind though, they both ran to Naoto, who had turned round to give their attention to the one calling out to them. Upon seeing them, Naoto just looked stunned, like she saw something incredible; but that was due to Minato's presence and just like Akihiko, she didn't seem too surprised either.

However, even though they had only turned around for a short while, Yukari was making her move. The Shadow, enraged by the piercing sound of bullets, suddenly extended an arm out, rushing towards Naoto with a flight of unbelievable speed. "Naoto, move!" Minato yelled to them, remembering the name as he gave a warning gesture.

But it was too late. As Naoto turned around, her mind didn't give her enough time to react to Yukari's attack. Instead, the Shadow grabbed Naoto by the throat with both of her hands and pressed into her windpipe with her thumbs. And to make matters worse, Yukari quickly lifted her off the ground and continued to strangle her in mid-air. Naoto could only squirm as she slowly lost her breath, desperately using her hands to try and pry the Shadow's grip open. But no matter how much she tried, the lack of oxygen was weakening her by the second.

"No! Yukari, stop!" Minato shouted to the Shadow, just barely able to watch the strangling without being squeamish. And after a sudden realisation, he remembered that he still had a pistol in his jacket pocket. He reached into it and hastily pulled it out, using both of his hands to keep the gun steady as he aimed with the crosshair. His hands were shaking from the fright he was undergoing, but tried with everything in his power to keep it steady; his target was the jewel, and when it was in his sights, he waited a bit longer to get the lining just right. One slip-up and he might miss entirely, but another slip-up could potentially put Naoto's life at risk. But they were losing air more and more with every moment passing, and that put huge pressure on Minato.

Suddenly, a shot rang out from the pistol. Minato was startled by the bullet's scream and had to close his eyes in case something terrible had happened. But when he slowly opened them, he could see the Shadow yelling and writhing in pain as a small chunk of the jewel fell off of the horns, and once he gained his confidence in the gun, he kept on firing. With every shot, all bullets were hitting the jewel and pieces upon pieces were breaking away.

Eventually though, Minato ran out of ammo. He kept clicking the trigger, but after pulling it a number of times without a shot going off, he realised that there were no bullets left. Knowing this, Akihiko then turned his attention to the slightly smaller pistol that was in Naoto's right hand. "Naoto! Use your gun! Go for the jewel!" Akihiko shouted to them urgently.

Naoto had no words to reply with; all air had completely left her lungs. But what she had was the strength to lift her arms up with the gun pointed at the horns, and without hesitation and nothing to lose, Naoto clicked the trigger over and over again, sending bullets flying into the jewel; her life depended on it, and the more she shot her pistol, the more of the life that was coming back to her. Yukari's grip on Naoto throat began to loosen with every bullet, and all the Shadow could do was scream and groan as the pain settled in.

Eventually, Yukari lost all grip and dropped Naoto to the ground, using her hands to grab onto her head as if a writhing headache had attacked her. As the Shadow did this though, Minato and Akihiko ran up to Naoto, who had laid down on their side on the sand with their head lowered and lungs breathing in heavily. "Naoto, are you alright?!" Minato asked her in a rush, helping them up to a sitting position and putting a hand on their back to comfort them. Naoto was breathing so hard and gasping for air so sharply that it seemed as if she had been deprived of oxygen for ages. "Yes... I'm fine..." she replied slowly, gulping the air they breathed mid-sentence, "... Akihiko and I... had a hunch that... that you'd still be..."

"Try not to talk," Minato advised, putting a finger to his lips to stop them talking. He was quite shocked to hear what Naoto had just said to him. Of course, Naoto hadn't finished her sentence, but he knew what they were talking about; he could only ask himself how Akihiko and Naoto could've had a 'hunch' on how he could've still been alive. What evidence did they have to prove it? But he had to put those questions to one side for now and focus on Naoto's recovery.

"Naoto Shirogane..." Naoto introduced herself, "... and yes... I'm a girl." Minato could see that she was trying to be humorous at this dark time, but he was just happy that she was free of the strangle and that he eventually got to know what her gender was. After all, with the situation he's let himself into, he needed to get to know Yu's group of friends.

Minato held out his hand as a friendly gesture. "Minato Arisato. It's nice to meet you, Naoto." he introduced himself with a mannerly disposition. Naoto took his hand and shook it with masculinity, smiling as she did so. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Minato." she greeted him back, sounding again as if she had known that she would meet him someday. Minato still had questions on that, but had immediately drawn his attention to Akihiko.

"Minato, what are your orders?" he asked him, somewhat out of the blue. When the question dropped, Minato was slightly surprised at how Akihiko was suddenly subliminally referring to him as the leader again, even after two years of absence. However, for Minato, it was a good time as any other to polish up his leadership skills. After a pause of thinking on a plan, Minato turned back to Akihiko. "Fuuka, Rise and Yu are in the forest, just over there," he explained, pointing towards a dense bit of plantation that sat beyond a high sand dune, "take Naoto there. She'll be safe there."

"And you?" Akihiko asked again.

"I'll stay with Yukari. Now hurry!"

Minato had said it was sternly as he could, but at the same time, he couldn't help but feel that he said a bit too strictly. However, Akihiko only gave him a smirk, as if recognising the leader that he was two years ago. And with that, the boxer helped the detective up to her feet and guided her towards the forestry Minato pointed them towards. After they left the battlefield, Minato turned his body round to the Shadow; once again, they stood in front of one another in a stand-off. One hoped that they would come to their sense, and the other hoped that figment of their imagination would go away.

"Yukari, listen to me!" Minato shouted up to the Shadow, placing his feet firmly into the ground and looking up to her with bravery, "I know you only remember me in your dreams, I know that! But this is me, right here, right now! I'm not here to trick you!"

"NO! I DON'T BELIEVE YOU!" Yukari screamed back at him, covering her eyes and shaking her head, completely blinded by denial, "I've had enough of you haunting my dreams... you just promise me a false happiness every time...! I don't want that anymore! I don't want YOU anymore! I WANT THE REAL MINATO! MY MINATO!"

"And that 'Minato' is me!" Minato cried out again as a last resort.

"STOP SAYING THAT! YOU'RE NOT REAL! YOU'RE NOT MINATO!" Yukari screeched.

It was useless; Minato had tried and tried again, and still Yukari couldn't see it. It was like there was no use reasoning with her anymore, and it broke Minato's heart when he came to that realisation. He didn't want to think about it, but there was just no other way. Slowly but surely, he came to terms with it and thought in silence about what he wanted to do. However, the answer came only seconds later, and reluctantly, lifted his head from his dispirited line of thinking. "Yukari... please..." he said quietly, almost to himself, "... please hang in there."

He took a fighting stance and drew out his Evoker. He knew that words weren't going to end the fight. He knew that the Shadow wasn't going to listen; Yukari's judgement was totally clouded by disbelief, uncertainty, and a desire to destroy the dream. And knowing all of those things, he wasn't going to hold back anymore. He was going to show her the 'Minato' at his most powerful.

Minato quickly pointed the Evoker at his chin and pulled the trigger with a rapid finger. "Alright...!" he shouted to himself, calling onto his Persona, "Orpheus, come on out!" Suddenly, the glass shattered and the flames of the soul erupted around Minato in a huge gathering of strength, surging the power of Persona into his body at an astounding rate. And out of the flames came the first of many Personas; the master of strings.

Orpheus.

The gales and the sapphire inferno subsided, and all that was left was for Minato to make the calls. He didn't want to hurt Yukari; it was the last thing he wanted to do, let alone never wanting to do. But it was the only way now, and there was no other option. With that, Minato called onto Orpheus. "Go, Orpheus!" he commanded the Persona, immediately watching as the cipher glided across the sand towards Yukari. It never looked back and only moved forwards, gripping its signature ancient harp behind itself in preparation for its assault.

When the Persona came close to the Shadow, it stopped mid-way and pulled the decorative harp away from its back. With one hand it held the hard and with the other hand, Orpheus held it into the air. But then suddenly the hand came down onto the strings of the harp, sending a shockwave of musical notes across the air with an ear-piercing sound that made even the Shadow's screams quite miniscule. The air was bending as the sound travelled across and it vibrated the coast with enough power to move the sand beneath them.

Yukari could only cover her ears in agony from the noise Orpheus was making; it was a low, dissonant and discordant, but it was effective, and it gave Minato another opportunity to attack. After Orpheus struck the disharmonious chord, it then held the harp with both hands and began to spit on its hovering foot, suddenly reaching a speed which even Minato found incredible. But when the Persona reached the top speed, using its extraordinary precision, timing and carefulness, Orpheus quickly let go of the harp before the musical notes ended their torture and sent it hurtling towards the Shadow.

As soon as it left Orpheus' hands, the sheer power in the speed of the throw instantly caused the harp to collide with the jewel on Yukari's horns. The attack was enough to cause a large block of the jewel to completely break off of the horns and fall into the sand, rendering itself unusable and worthless. At this point, the Shadow was stunned and struggling to recover from such a massive blow to it's most sensitive area. This presented itself as another window of opportunity for Minato, and he was willing to take it, even though he knew it meant causing more damage to Yukari; he'd have hoped that the Shadow would've given up so that it would let Yukari go. But it wasn't letting up, and Minato had to press on.

After sending Orpheus back to the psyche, Minato quickly brought out his Evoker once again and called forth the next Persona with the crash of a bullet. The different shades of navy colours poured out of Minato's mind and around his body, and as the gales wrapped around his feet, he cried out in mental suffering as Thanatos was slowly brought back onto the battlefield. When the Death Persona stood behind him awaiting for its orders, Minato struggled to catch his breath and he felt somewhat weak in the legs. However, he eventually shrugged it off and placed his concentration back on the Shadow.

He then drew out his blade as did Thanatos, creating a harmonious synchronisation between human and Persona. And still seeing the Shadow stunned and still suffering from its dizziness, Minato and Thanatos made their way towards her. Minato once again entered into a sprint, kicking up the sand behind him, and Thanatos flew across the sand, following closely behind its host with a deadly plan in its head to cause some damage.

The two-man stampede ended in a flash, but it swiftly led on to the crucial assault. With their blades in their hands, Minato and Thanatos followed each other's moves with absolute perfection; they slashed, sliced, stabbed, made chains of combos, and did everything to whittle Yukari down. With every hit that landed, Yukari let out a cry of extreme suffering; it was painful to hear, and Minato couldn't do anything to block it out, but it was necessary, and he only hoped that the fight would end soon.

Soon enough, Minato's energy had depleted; he and Thanatos, having already caused a colossal amount of pain to Yukari's Shadow, eventually jumped away from her to gather their strength. But it soon occurred to Minato that every Persona he had summoned during that fight had suddenly taken a toll on him; he suddenly keeled over onto his knees and used his arms for support. As this happened, Thanatos retreated back to Minato's subconscious, as if he had already run out of power to even keep a Persona for more than a few moments out of his mind. He felt completely drained; his muscles and his mind felt so weak and he didn't even know why. But it was bad news, especially when Yukari had suddenly recovered from Orpheus' attack.

All of a sudden, the tables had dramatically turned. Just moments ago, Minato was the one landing the hits on the Shadow, but now the Shadow stood over Minato, looking down on him with those golden-yellow eyes that only saw a weak fake. Minato couldn't even lift his head from all the power he exerted, and because of it, he didn't even see the green colours swirling around him once more; he only noticed this when the winds were picking up and when the sand was throwing itself into his face.

He could only turn his head from side to side to see what was happening, and when he saw the Garudyne spell violently erupting around his fragile body, he struggled to think of a way to escape the attack. However, he couldn't move anything; there was no power in his legs to even stand, and his arms were completely exhausted from swinging his blade. But before he could even think about how much it would hurt, the vortex suddenly burst itself outwards, sending the weak Minato flying away from the Shadow with a force that could knock even the heaviest man off of their feet.

He landed with a hard thud; the impact of the gales on his body were crushing upon impact and it was even enough to suck the life out of him. He didn't know whether it was the tornado or the flight that did him in, but after that vicious blow, there was nothing left in him to continue. It was devastating how much power Minato had lost in only a few moments, going from dealing critical hits with Thanatos to being thrown onto his back after suffering a sudden fatigue.

He didn't know how he could recover from this at all. He could only just lie there, powerless and without any energy whatsoever to even lift himself off of his back. And just very slowly his eyes were starting to droop; he tried to keep them open as much as he could, but even the strength to do that was gradually diminishing as well. Eventually though, there was just no more motivation left, and all there was left was for him to close his eyes and surrender his mind to unconsciousness. He drifted slightly, and soon enough the world of reality was becoming distant from his mind.

But then, just when his subconscious was about to be put to sleep, a sudden warm feeling enveloped around him, and the remedial sensation absorbing into his muscles and mind were slowly and gradually waking him up again. It felt almost miraculous, and yet it felt real; like all the fortune in the world had suddenly favoured him. As the healing light lulled him awake, Minato eventually had the strength to finally lift his back off the ground and finally lift his head up.

He shook his head and immediately turned his attention back to Yukari. But as he did so, he could see that she was fighting someone else. Or rather two others. And when Minato looked over to the person she was brawling against, he felt a lot of relief running deep through his body. The two figures fighting Yukari were quite an odd duo to look at; one person he knew so well, but the other, he didn't recognise.

The fog obscured his vision slightly, but he could make out all of the features of the first individual. The figure was definitely male, and he looked slightly taller in height than Minato. He carried a large, bulky sword; one that would require both hands to wield, but the size was unbelievable from where Minato was sitting. The way he held the claymore made him look like a baseball player, and his fighting style seemed somewhat clumsy yet effective and quick. But there was one thing, above all others, that stood out for Minato, and that was the signature cap that he always wore on his head; it was strange to Minato that he suddenly had longer hair than when he last saw him, but it was definitely him.

He knew that it was none other than his best friend, Junpei Iori.

But the other person with him was someone he didn't know at all, but he instantly knew that it was another one of Yu's friends. His body seemed muscular, but didn't quite match the same toughness Akihiko had. Despite this though, he had moves that could potentially knock out a single person in one hit, and the scar marks on the side of his head along with the ear-piercings in one of his ears made Minato see how violent he looked. He had beach-blonde hair that was swept back, and his weapon of choice was an antique shield that baffled Minato slightly. However, he knew him to be on the side of the Persona-users and observing his movements, he seemed somewhat reluctant to deal a great amount of damage to Yukari.

Minato quickly picked himself up onto his feet and prepared himself for another sprint, looking toward Junpei as he did. "Junpei!" he called out to him as he took his first steps towards his loyal long-time friend. However, he was then halted by another figure that suddenly sped past him with an inhumane sprint in their foot. The speed they were running at could match that of an incredibly fit athlete, but when he realised who it was, he wasn't surprised. The figure had stopped only a good metre away from where he was standing, but even though he was seeing the back of them, he could just picture what their facial features were.

The figure had the shape of a young woman, but her exterior was not of a human being; instead, she was all android, donning a white armour with golden plating of archaic etchings wrapped around her robotic thighs and shoulders. She had blonde hair and had red discs in the sides of her head that resembled a pair of over-ear headphones. The humanoid's name came naturally to Minato, and it sprung to mind so quickly; he wouldn't have forgotten her name, not ever. And just seeing her stand there, guarding Yukari from him made him all the more grateful to have seen her. "Aigis..." he muttered her name to himself, trying to sink in the whole situation after having just woken up from a brief unconsciousness.

Before he could even consider approaching her, Aigis suddenly bowed her head down and used all the kinetic energy in the discs in her head to spin round, gathering as much power as she could as a result. But just as the metal discs turned a bright incandescent red colour, her head instantly shot up to the skies, and the sudden sound of breaking glass rung out unexpectedly, even though Minato had seen it coming.

The same cerulean colours weaved in and around Aigis' metal body as the android called onto her Persona. "Pallas Athena! Come out!" she cried out as the womanly Greek goddess of wisdom and courage materialised onto the battlefield. A being of human flesh and golden roman armour solidified into view, and the signature shield it wielded faced the Shadow as if it had an anger of its own; Minato could remember it clearly, and it was like fighting alongside Aigis once again.

Junpei and Yukari were still locking horns, and it was clear that he was gradually fatiguing. His movements were slowing down and his arms were starting to shake from lifting the claymore; all strength was leaving him the more he was fighting the Shadow. "Gah! Aigis...!" Junpei called out to the humanoid, "Quick! She's going to strike us down any moment now!" And then, without any word or hesitation, Aigis lifted her arm up and pointed a finger towards the Shadow. The Persona reacted immediately, and rushed towards Yukari with a gliding motion that even a blink could miss.

As Yukari and Junpei kept up the brawl, Pallas Athena was coming in close, charging towards the Shadow with its shield and spear that were both pointing forwards with an intention to deal a devastating amount of damage. And before the Shadow could even turn around to see what was coming, the Persona had already come in from the side. When it finally reached Yukari, Pallas Athena drove its shield and spear into the jewel that everyone had been targeting, and the impact created a large crashing sound, followed by a noise of crunching and smashing; it was a sound that was enough to grit anyone's teeth, but the damage was brutal.

The attack was enough to break another huge chunk from the jewel, and all that was left was the bulky portion that just barely stuck between the two horns. Minato could tell that the jewel's power of protection had weakened by a large margin, but until that last part of the jewel was destroyed, it would only keep repairing itself. However, he didn't have any time to think about it. Because the next thing he knew, he was suddenly greeted with a tight hug from someone that came out of the fog; the force of the body that impacted into his own was great enough to nearly make him fall onto his back. The power in the hug felt odd and unnatural, but it was familiar to him; and when he realised the cold sensation in the person's body, he knew that it was Aigis.

Upon receiving such a powerful hug, Minato could hear Aigis sobbing; she wasn't crying like she used to. He could remember the tears she had shed for him, but none of those times could compare to how she was feeling now. "You're back... you're back..." she spoke through her choked up tone, struggling to get her words out, "... but I don't understand... how can you... how can you be alive...? How...?" Her questions were completely valid. It was no wonder Aigis couldn't comprehend it; she was an android who had grasped the concept of life and death only recently, and to see him alive after being deceased for two years must've baffled her to the point where the sight of him was just too overwhelming for her. Even a human being wouldn't be able to process it, and a few of them had yet to come up with a reason.

Minato would've been insane to not hug her back, but he did so, and it only made the guilt rise in his chest more and more. "I know, Aigis. I'm so sorry..." Minato said into the disk in her head, regretful and somewhat heartbroken. The more he heard her cry the more he was wondering whether he tears were ones of happiness or sadness, and it only tore him apart to ponder on it. However, as he peered over Aigis' shoulder, he could see Junpei and the beach-blonde boy running towards him with mixed expressions on their faces.

Minato and Aigis broke away from their embrace until one of their arms were on the shoulders of one another and looked towards the duo. Junpei looked almost stunned from afar, but as he got closer, his expression turned to that of anger, the same look he had gotten from Akihiko. But the other just looked dumbfounded, almost speechless, and when he was finally standing in front of Minato, it was clear that he was.

His attention was completely drawn to Junpei who had suddenly stabbed his claymore into the sand; his eyes looked bloodshot and showed nothing but rage. His gritted teeth almost made Minato waver a bit, but the more he stomped towards him, the more frozen Minato was becoming. "Junpei..." Minato called to him, somewhat frightened by his expression.

"So, you're alive, huh?!" Junpei yelled at him, somewhat choked up when he said it, "You bastard! You go and die on me and then come back after two years?! Is this another one of your miracles?! Is it?!" Akihiko's look earlier on was startling, but Junpei's was petrifying to look at; he absolutely looked like he was going to murder someone, even if it was his best friend. His steps were getting heavier and his eyes stared at him as if he was looking into Minato's soul. Minato just didn't know how to react. "Junpei... I know this is..." he muttered before suddenly being cut off.

"Shut up!" Junpei yelled right into Minato's face, looking deranged and out of mind. But then, just when Minato was expecting the worst, Junpei's face began to twist into a look that suggested that he was going to burst into tears. He then brought up both of his arms and suddenly threw them around Minato violently, embracing his longtime friend in a brotherly hug. "Just... shut up...!" he shouted again as he forced his words through his sobbing.

Minato could only return the bro hug; he patted and rubbed his back to comfort him as he wept. "I missed you too, Junpei," Minato said in reassurance, as if he had read Junpei's mind, "... I missed all of you." He then opened one of his arms to welcome Aigis back into the embrace, turning the brotherly hug into a hug for three; an embrace between a third of what S.E.E.S once was. They all knew that it wasn't the time or the place to do this, but they didn't care. Just seeing each other again was a miracle to them.

However, it only lasted for a short moment. "Guys, look alive!" the beach-blonde suddenly shouted as he ran towards them, pushing them as if urging them to move. But then when they looked up to what he was pushing them away from, they instantly broke away from the hugs and scrambled to a sprint.

Yukari had suddenly emerged from the fog and hand her arm reached out towards the group of four. But as she did so, her sleeve expanded and turned into what looked like a gaping hole and increased in size the more she held her hand out for. And then, before any of them knew it, they finally understood why the muscular thug was pushing them towards safety. Out of the gaping sleeve suddenly came a large wave of archery arrows, each one with tips of steel that were sharpened to the absolute point, and they were all homing in on the four with such precision that they would've been completely unavoidable.

As the four ran from the assault, the arrows were only catching up with them, and eventually, they started to drop all around them. With each arrow stabbing itself into the sand, the sound of the impact was loud and clear, and it signified to them that those arrows were bad news; they could feel the wind with each arrow coming down and the sound meant that they were powerful and quick. And soon after a while, they could see how powerful and quick they were.

All of a sudden, a large barrage of arrows landed right in front of them, rapidly putting them into a halt. They then turned the other way, and was immediately met with another wave of arrows landing in front of them again. Before they could even turn left or right, the arrows kept on coming and they soon froze them into place when they saw the large ring of projectiles standing around them; it indicated nothing more to them that this kind of attack was a brutal one, and one that they found unescapable.

But it only became worse. After finding that any direction was perilous, it only made them sitting ducks for the next wave of arrows; and this time they didn't know how to run from it. Yukari still had her arm held up and the gaping mouth of her sleeve was still open, but there was still one more thing to complete the move; they were all seeing it coming, and all they could do was lower their heads with their eyes twitching at the overwhelming expectation. Eventually though, it happened, and the arrows suddenly sprayed out from the sleeve of the banshee's cloak.

"Ahh shit! What do we do?!" Junpei yelled to the others, trying to keep his composure. The arrows soared through the air like a million comets, and then quickly came back down like meteorites, as if they were all standing in a spot where it would soon become a crater. The arrows came down fast, almost matching a bullet's speed, and the precision was dead on; there was nothing they could do to dodge it, and there was nothing they could do to stop it. That was until, Minato hastily drew his Evoker and cracked another bullet into his subconscious. "Rrrraarrgh!" Minato cried out as he pulled the trigger once more.

Azure flames surrounded the group with a protective aura, and shortly after, another of Minato's Personas quickly came into view. A Hindu figure with four arms stood in front of them all with all of its limbs stretched out in an act of guarding them. The Persona had only weapon of choice; the trident. And all other arms held other things, such as an ancient horn and an hourglass that had designs resemblant to that of a chalice. It was a Persona both S.E.E.S and the Investigation Team had seen many times from their leaders. It was none other than Shiva the Destroyer.

The Persona faced the incoming arrows with its head held high and its arms held up at the ready. The arrows came closer and closer, and by the time they had finally reached the group, Shiva instantly reacted. The first arrow came down, and Shiva quickly used one of its arms to punch it away from itself, and as soon as it was cast aside, the Persona just kept on defending the group. With each arrow, Shiva just knocked it out of its path using any means it had; it used its arms, legs and even its over-sized trident to parry and push the oncoming assault away. The Persona was quick and agile and it used an astounding amount of effort to focus on each arrow as they came down. It was staring to show as well. "Argh!" Minato yelled out again, as he crouched down to the sand, holding his head in his hands as if a migraine had suddenly come on. It was fortunate enough that the attack had ended when it happened, and after Minato was trying to recover the writhing pain in his head, Shiva suddenly retreated back into his psyche.

Aigis gasped when she realised it and knelt down next to him to comfort him. "Minato-san, what's wrong?!" she asked him desperately. And as soon as she asked, everyone else began to notice what was occurring and bent down next to him as well. They were all concerned, and they were right to be. Minato was breathing slightly heavier than usual and rubbed his forehead as if trying to quell a large headache. "It's my head..." Minato admitted, having initially thought about telling a lie before answering, "... I haven't summoned a Persona in a long time... I guess I'm a little rusty..."

He only put it mildly, but to everyone else, he was putting a huge strain on his mind; the amount of time that had passed since he last summoned a Persona was ages ago, and the amount of Personas he had summoned during that fight would've been enough to cause more than just a splitting migraine. Summoning any more could magnify the problem.

"WHY CAN'T YOU ALL JUST GO AWAY! I DON'T WANT ANY MORE LIES! I HATE IT!" Yukari screamed, holding her hands up to her eyes to hold back the tears once again, even though the crystallised droplets down her face were continuing to build up on her cheeks. She sounded even more distressed and broken in her tone, and it was haunting to hear, especially for Minato. But even though they desperately wanted to help her, no one had any words; no words to convince her and no words to make her see reason. Everyone was speechless, and they knew that no matter what they said, Yukari will only bring her defeatist attitude into the argument.

When no one replied, it only made the Shadow more and more enraged as the silence settled in. Yukari screamed to the heavens once again and suddenly threw her arms and head up to the sky, which unexpectedly indicated the next attack. As she did this, the sand below and around the group's feet immediately rumbled beneath them, and only seconds later, the ground suddenly erupted and exploded. In only a short matter of moments, the soft sand had mixed with the fog and created a smokescreen that no one, not even Aigis, could see through. The beach-blonde thug was suddenly undergoing a coughing fit after having breathed in a bit of sand. "Blegh! Gah!" he expelled the air from his lungs before finding his ability to talk, "What happened?!"

However, before any of them could move, a silhouette formed in the distance, and it seemed to be getting closer and closer; the discomforting thing about it though was that it was getting too close too quickly, and the shape that took form suddenly made them panic. "She's coming straight for us...!" Minato shouted to the others, having to need Aigis' help to get himself up to his feet, "... Spread out!"

As soon as Minato made his command, everyone, including himself, suddenly dashed in any direction they chose and made their sprint from there. However, Minato knew that Yukari was only going to chase him and when he looked behind himself, he could see that she had changed her course just to catch up with him. The strain in his head made him somewhat dizzy and unable to co-ordinate his feet properly, but he just kept on running; he was at a disadvantage since he had to hold off using the Evoker to recover the strength in his mind, but it was all he could do for the moment.

The more he kept looking behind himself though, the closer Yukari got, and eventually it got to the point where Minato just couldn't outrun her anymore. She was right behind him and ready to make a charging attack. But just before Yukari could reach out to him, Minato quickly thought of another way and immediately unsheathed his blade. And then, after a making one last effort to gain some distance between himself and Yukari, he suddenly turned to his side and began side-stepping. He held his sword behind himself and gradually prepared himself for his counterattack, but he could only do it for so long. When Yukari came close enough, Minato quickly targeted the jewel in the horns and threw the blade forwards.

The sword spun vertically as it soared through the air, and the Shadow even stopped in her glide to try and avoid the counterattack, but it was too late. Before Yukari could do anything about it, the blade had managed to land square into the last portion of the jewel, breaking it clean off of the Shadow's horns. Yukari made one last banshee cry as the jewel fell into the sand, slowly dimming in light as if it was losing its life. It was somewhat of a victory to Minato, having had completely removed all of Yukari's protection and made all elemental attacks available again.

As the Shadow cried out in pain, Minato hunched over with a lack of oxygen. All air had completely left his lungs after the strenuous sprint, and after stopping, he just couldn't find it in himself to start again; he felt lightheaded, and the almost-excruciating pain in his head was enough to make him feel a pulsing sensation in the side of his head which made him wince every time he felt it. He was in a bad state, and finding any energy in himself was becoming, yet again, a difficult feat. He inhaled in large quantities and exhaled until his lungs were empty, repeating the process as he tried to recover his breath.

Suddenly, Yukari screamed out again, which only worsened the pain in Minato's head. But that was the least of his worries; when he turned around to see her, Yukari had immediately made another charge towards him, leaving no time for him at all to make any dodges or any more counterattacks. She came at him with a furious speed, and being startled by it, Minato could only stay in his spot and use his arms to shield his eyes away from the incoming impact. He closed his eyes tightly shut and turned his head away, only managing to gather enough energy to lean back and balance himself with one foot behind him.

But then, as if by chance, Minato heard a familiar noise humming from in front of him. He immediately drew his arms away to, not only get a look of what was suddenly happening, but also because of why he suddenly felt a cold feeling at the front of his body.

And instantly, what he saw in front of him were gigantic cuboid blocks of ice that were forming in their masses, aligning with one another and piling on one another until they made a large wall made entirely out dry solidified ice that stood between Minato and Yukari. The Shadow immediately stopped when the wall finally built itself, but what happened next was even more extraordinary. When the wall was complete, and a short while later, all of the ice blocks suddenly spontaneously exploded with one another, causing ice shards and the force of the explosives to impact on Yukari's body with a devastating amount of damage. The Shadow recoiled in a state of shock and pain, and all she could do was hold her arms like she had been gravely wounded.

Minato could only think back on what had just happened and immediately thought of a reason. He remembered those ice blocks and what they were capable of, and he even remembered the name for that kind of attack. Mabufudyne. And the amount of brutality that was in the ice attack must've come from someone who knows the art of the element well enough to deal that kind of damage. He didn't have to think about who could've cast it though; he looked to his left and immediately saw her standing there between two other girls he assumed were with Yu Narukami.

He could remember that long, wavy hair that donned a crimson red colour along with her posture that showed dignity, courage and authority. Her choice in clothing was rather odd, but complimented her looks; she wore a black leather military-styled uniform that seemed to protect a lot of her body, and over it was a large white coat that was covered in fur that was as crystal white as snow. But he wasn't surprised when she still liked to wear heeled footwear, even in battle, and that she still kept her weapon of choice, the rapier. The name came to him easily. It was Mitsuru Kirijo.

She seemed to have noticed Minato a long time ago, because after she sent her Persona, Artemisia, back into her subconscious, she immediately turned towards him and ran with the other two mystery girls without even looking at him. Whilst they were making their way over to where Minato was, he took the time to analyse the other couple of girls who ran with her.

One of them seemed like a fighter, just like Akihiko, and that she was slightly more masculine in terms of fighting style unlike the other girl who was also with Mitsuru. She had a light brown bowl-cut haircut that swept to one side, and she donned a lime-green jacket that was zipped up to her neck; it was quite scruffy and didn't look like it had been ironed in ages, so it occurred to him that it must've been her favourite jacket. She wore short jogging leggings and wore sneakers to complete the look; Minato could tell that she was one for exercising.

He then looked over to the other girl and immediately saw the red cardigan that stood out as the most striking feature. She had long straight black hair with a red hairband, which both made a very posh and a somewhat neat look for the girl. She wore a short skirt along with black tights that complimented the sophisticatedly designed plimsoles that she wore on her feet. And strangely, her weapon of choice was that of a fan. He could tell that these two girls were with Yu due to the fact that they looked at least a couple of years younger than him.

He had to cut his analysis short though; Yukari had recovered from the ice shards and the dizziness that was caused by the explosions, and she was encouraged to get her own back. Minato had taken a fighting stance just in case she was about to make another charging attack, but after a while of standing in the same position, it occurred to him that it wasn't what the Shadow was pre-meditating. Yukari had only stayed in her place just staring Minato down, as if she were attempting to break him down with a furious glare. None of them talked; they just took their stand in the sand and watched one another for any sudden movements. However, Yukari was the first to make that move.

The Shadow suddenly swung out her arm, and Minato could only think that she was preparing to send out another barrage of archery arrows, for which he was fully prepared for. But just when he was ready to make another sprint and use it against her, Yukari had done something completely different. As if she had suddenly changed her mind, she thrusted her arm towards the ground and yet another chain snaked out from her sleeve and buried itself into the ground. "... Great, more chains." Minato said to himself, looking around himself nervously for where the chain might've gone. He knew that the lone chain was digging its way through the sand in the hope of finding where Minato was standing, but it didn't give him much time to escape.

Before he could take a side-step out of danger, the chain suddenly burst up from Minato's feet and gave a sudden uppercut into his chin, knocking his head upwards. "Kyah!" he cried out as the chains impacted on his jaw with a force that nearly strained his neck. The uppercut move had severely made him lose his balance and his defensive stance became completely useless to him. And as a result, it only made himself open to Yukari.

As Minato stumbled backwards, and before he could bring his head back down, he could hear another pair of chains rattling up from the sand and homing in towards him; suddenly, they wrapped around both of his arms with a tight grip like before and tightened themselves as they anchored into the ground. Suddenly, the began pulling from both directions, yanking both of his arms towards the ground as if Minato had now been a victim of a torture chamber; as they pulled, Minato struggled to tug right back, and he could feel his skin stretching as the strength of the chains continued to put strain on his biceps. "Nnnnrrrrgggghh!" he yelled out, as if to give himself some relief from the pain he was feeling in his arms.

There was nothing he could do; he was trapped once again by chains, and although he was getting rather sick of them, he was worried for his arms, having thoughts that the bones might be pulled apart and dislocated. No matter how much he tried to pull back, the chains would only increase their strength to overpower his own, and in the most excruciating way possible. With every bit of struggle, Minato was breathing heavier more and more as his muscles tired from the lack of oxygen. However, he didn't have to struggle on his own, because Mitsuru and the other two girls finally reached him and instantly rushed to help him out; it was actually Mitsuru who rushed to his aid, but the other two girls could only stand in their spots, hugely gobsmacked and frozen by shock.

"MINATO... ARISATO?!" the girl with the red cardigan cried out.

"But how is that possible?! Aren't you supposed to be... well... dead?!" the girl in the green jacket delicately put, feeling somewhat guilty for phrasing the question in such a way.

While Minato's arms were being pulled apart, he couldn't help but wonder how many more others would ask the same question. But he dwelled on it only for a moment, because he was suddenly busy breaking himself free with Mitsuru at his side. "Sorry girls, I'll explain later...!" Minato said, knowing that the situation he was in wasn't such a good time to give explanations, and that was putting it lightly. Mitsuru turned to the two with urgency. "Now's not the time, you two! Help me free Minato!" she shouted to the two, somewhat desperate but nonetheless authoritative.

"O-Oh yeah! Sorry!" the green jacket apologised when she realised what she and the red cardigan were doing. The two immediately came to Minato's side and helped to pull the chains so that it put less strain on his muscles, as well as giving him less requirements to keep his arms. The green jacket had the left side and the red cardigan had the right side, and Mitsuru tried to pry his arms free of the chains. But no matter how the four of them tried to stop the chains from torturing him, nothing was working and soon after a while, it was becoming hopeless. And a few seconds later, it became worse still.

Suddenly, more chains erupted up from the sand and wriggled around for its next prey; there were three chains, which were conveniently enough for the three people that were trying to save Minato. One chain grabbed onto the green jacket's arm and immediately pulled her down to the ground; the tug was so great and so unexpected, that it managed to pull her arm straight into the sand until it levelled with her shoulder. "Ow! Gah! She's got me!" she cried out as her arm was being buried into the ground.

"Aaaah! No!" the red cardigan then shouted as a chain suddenly grabbed onto her around her waist, forcing her down to the sand and falling onto her back with a thud; she tried to break free of the chain, but as she squirmed, the chain only pulled harder, and it was winding her to the point where she had difficulty breathing.

"No! Nrrraaaaggh! Let me go!" Minato cried out when he saw the two girls fall to the ground. He put all of his effort into freeing himself of the chains, and after seeing such a sight, he tugged harder and harder, and he even had to yell just to relieve himself of the blistering pain that was burning in his arms. His only hope then was Mitsuru; she had tried everything from pulling the chains with Minato to using her rapier to break them, but it mattered not how much she tried. Nothing worked, and nothing was ever going to work, especially with what happened afterwards.

The third chain was still searching for a target, but it didn't take too long for it to find Mitsuru. It suddenly darted towards her leg like a python and quickly coiled itself around her thigh with a suffocating grip. "Wha – ?!" Mitsuru cried out, but was immediately cut off by a large pain in her muscle. All of a sudden, the chain pulled downwards with an unimaginable amount of might and instantly sunk her whole leg into the sand, fully anchoring her into the ground afterwards. "Gah! Argh!" Mitsuru yelled out as the pain in her calf was crushed under the pressure of the collective sand.

"Argh, no! Not now! Mitsuru-senpai!" Minato called to her, still unable to even shift the chains from their roots. Before she could sink any further, she used a free hand to search for her Evoker. But after patting around her person for a gun-shaped weapon, she couldn't find it and immediately realised where it was. She knew that it was still in its holster that was securely fixed on her leg which was now submerged in earth; digging for it would take up time, and trying to yank her leg out to retrieve it would be a strenuous and painful task. And to make matters more dire, she was slowly sinking into the sand, as were the green jacket and the red cardigan.

She quickly turned her head round to them, even though it took some stretching to do so. "Chie! Yukiko!" Mitsuru called out their names, which Minato took note of as her head turned to one after the other, "Can either of you reach your Evokers?!" The two girls, now formally known to Minato as Chie and Yukiko, frantically used their free hands to search for their Evokers, and fortunately for them, it didn't take that long for an answer. They both unsheathed their summoning tools and held them to Mitsuru in reply. "We've got them!" Yukiko shouted over to her, then looking towards Chie as if she had a plan. Chie then looked towards Yukiko and they both nodded, almost as if they knew what to do. "Yeah! Don't worry, we got this!" she yelled over to Mitsuru and Minato.

After receiving nods from the two, Chie and Yukiko immediately turned their bodies round to the stationary Yukari, even though it required some contortion to even move their limbs. They saw that the Shadow was purposely holding back her attacks since her entire source of protection was completely destroyed and unredeemable, and that the only way of fighting was by using the chains as both an offensive and a defensive attack. However, Chie and Yukiko were about to prove to her that there was a huge flaw in her methods.

They brought their Evokers up to their heads in any way they could and looked to one another again. They paused for a moment to see if they were on the same page, and when they realised that they were both thinking the same thing, they counted to three. "Okay..." Chie said to Yukiko, "... One..."

"... Two..." Yukiko joined in with the countdown.

"... Three!" They both cried out to each other before swiftly turning their heads to Yukari and pulling the trigger. Two minds smashed the fragile glass of their subconsciousness in a harmonious duet, and one by one, their Personas faded onto the battlefield, standing stronger than the hosts were.

The first Persona, that belonged to Chie, looked like a warrior right off the bat, and the thick, multi-layered, military-styled armour it donned shone a silver colour that seemed fit for even the most prestigious fighter. It's uniform was of a jet-black colour with thin yellow streaks running down the sides and the front of its body, and the helmet that it wore seemed to resemble that of a wizard's hat but in a Japanese-style that was made for extra protection; it obscured its red and white eyes slightly, and its main weapon were off double-blades that shone a crimson red colour and that got sharper and sharper as it neared the tips.

For Yukiko, her Persona was of a more elegant figure and of a more beautiful shape. The main body glowed with a holy yellowish light that completely removed all facial features, but it's thin female body wasn't to be underestimated. In one hand it had the holster for a katana, and in its other hand was the actual katana, and its long sharp metal reflected the Personas light off of its surface. Its wrists were cuffed to what looked like hexadecagon-shaped shields that bore a striking resemblance to flowers, and those two shields were linked to one another by a metallic wing-like structure that replicated the functions of a fan, such as the one Yukiko used as her weapon of choice.

The sapphire gales were comforting to both Mitsuru and Minato when they saw the Personas in their glory, and all they had to wait for were the commands of Chie and Yukiko. And having a fully formulated plan in their minds, the two called onto their other selves.

"Amaterasu!" Yukiko called to her Persona.

"Suzuka Gongen!" Chie then shouted up to hers.

And as soon as their names were called onto, the two Personas made their signature moves; Suzuka Gongen to its right with its double-blades spinning from the handle in a spectacular way, and Amaterasu spun to its left with its wings gracefully thrusted forward to call forth an attack. "Twin Dragons!" Chie and Yukiko yelled out together, commanding their Personas for their tag-team attack. And as Minato expected, it was another fusion spell, just as Yosuke and Teddie did earlier on.

With the combined powers of Suzuka Gongen and Amaterasu, a large scaly reptile-like figure began to materialise around Yukari, and as time passed, it solidified into a golden dragon that circled itself around the Shadow with a speed that could whip up a tornado on its own. But that was not its intention; the heat that suddenly rose around the battlefield was giving Minato a clue as to what was going to happen, and when he found out, he slowly turned his head away from the inferno that was about to ensue.

As the dragon circled around Yukari like a vulture, more aspects to the attack then gradually followed. A traditional symbol that seemed strikingly similar to that of martial arts symbolism spun on its centre around the Shadow, as if it were acting like a crosshair for the assault that was to come. But no one had to wait any longer for it to happen, because a few moments later, a sudden explosion of white and blossom pink colours burst out from where Yukari was floating, and the light was so brilliant that even Chie and Yukiko themselves couldn't look at it; the intense heat that surrounded the light burned everything in the hazard zone, and Yukari was right in the centre of it, feeling the white incandescent fire burning into her Shadow's skin.

A while later and the light began to take shape as a flower opening up into bloom, and as this happened, the inferno just kept getting hotter and hotter, until Chie, Yukiko, Mitsuru and Minato themselves were starting to sweat. The petals reached out everywhere, and anything that touched them was instantly burned with it, but the bloom only lasted for a while. When the attack was done, the flower finally erupted into a large explosion of fire and flames, as if Hell had opened up a pit right below the Shadow's feet. At this point, the heat was so great that the four were starting to think that their skin was starting to burn and melt from the amount of fire that was burning around Yukari.

Eventually though, the fire subsided, and the chains that held onto the group began to lose their strength almost instantaneously. "Hnnnrrrraaarrgh!" Minato grunted aloud once more before finally being able to pull his arms back towards his body; the chains had weakened so dramatically that everyone was beginning to retrieve their limbs. Chie was able to pull her arm back out of the sand, Yukiko had managed to remove the chain from her waist, Mitsuru pulled her leg gently out of the sand and shook it off, and Minato could finally relax and remove the multiple coils that the chains made around his arms.

The four regroup with one another, and finally, names could be exchanged. Chie and Yukiko were quite nervous to see Minato, mainly because they were in the presence of someone who had come back from the dead, but also because they were standing in front of someone they felt they could also look up to; they had heard of his story after all. "Well, that was quite the introduction," Mitsuru said to Minato in a joking manner, "I didn't believe Akihiko when he said that you might've returned, but seeing you here and now... it's unbelievable!" And with that said, Mitsuru opened her arms, inviting Minato to a friendly hug, which he gladly took.

Minato could hear that Mitsuru was quite surprised, but he knew that she was clearly not as surprised as everyone else was. And when she mentioned Akihiko and what he had supposedly said to her, he was quite baffled, and so were Chie and Yukiko when they noticed her calm expression as well. He slowly pulled away from the hug and looked at Mitsuru in the face. "Wait, Akihiko said what?" Minato asked her in confusion, but didn't show much of it, as was per usual with himself, "You mean... he knew something about me coming back?"

"I'm just as clueless!" Chie said in an outburst caused by her lack of knowledge on the situation, "Why didn't Akihiko tell us about this?! I know he's a trainee detective and all, but surely he would've said something!" Mitsuru could tell that Chie was quite outraged, but she could understand; anyone would be. She could only shake her head in protest against Chie's demands. "I know, Chie. But now's not the time or the place to discuss it. We'll explain everything – and I mean everything – when we end this fight." she said calmly, gesturing for Chie to compose herself. Minato could understand what Chie was thinking; there were so many questions unanswered, and there was so much to take in that any mind would go crazy from the overload of everything that was going on all at once. But like Mitsuru said, all with be revealed once this fight is over and done with, and he knew that he would have to provide the details; everyone he had met would want to know.

The conversation abruptly ended after Junpei, Aigis and the beach-blonde thug, who Minato saw earlier on, ran up to the four. "Oh, thank Christ you guys are alright!" Junpei said in relief, hunching over to gather the rest of his lost breath, "We just learn this loud explosion and we all came running after that!" Minato couldn't help but chuckle at how much Junpei was still himself; he always remembered him for his unique sense of humour and it interesting choice in words, but also because of how caring he was for his friends, especially for his best friend of all. Minato's attention was then drawn to the beach-blonde beefcake who gently shoved himself towards the front of the group with a hand held out in a handshake to him. "Would'a done this sooner if we didn't have to split up," he said with a friendly grin, "The name's Kanji Tatsumi. I thought I was going insane when I saw you back there."

"I can understand that. It's nice to meet you, Kanji," Minato returned the humour as he reached out his hand to shake Kanji's. The handshake was firm, but Minato couldn't help but feel a bit of softness and femininity in Kanji's hand; he didn't want to mention it though and after a while, took his hand away. Yukiko then held out a hand of her own, showing the elegance and respect she had for Minato. "Oh, I'm sorry! Where are my manners?" she asked rhetorically, stepping towards him to offer her hand, "My name's Yukiko Amagi."

"Yukiko Amagi," Minato said to himself in a gentleman's tone so that he could memorise her name whilst being courteous, shaking her gentle hand as he did so, "it's lovely to meet you." She was quite shy, and it was clear from the handshake that she was. To break the ice, Minato gave her a friendly smile, and after seeing it, Yukiko returned the expression with a gentle and princess-like grin. After drawing his hand away, he was immediately met with Chie's hand. "M-My name's Chie Satonaka. And yeah, I'm into kung-fu." she introduced herself nervously, as if she were introducing herself to a school class of young children.

"Chie Satonaka," Minato said her name once again to remember it for the future, and shook her surprisingly masculine hand, "What you and Yukiko did there was really impressive. I've never seen it done like that before." Of course, he had seen Yosuke and Teddie's version before, but it was the truth, and he was quite in awe of what they were capable of as a duo. Chie and Yukiko looked to one another with huge smiles, as if they had just impressed a celebrity. However, any more chat would've had to wait.

The Shadow made another ear-piercing cry that alerted them to her presence. But when they all heard it, she didn't sound like a banshee anymore; rather she sounded like Yukari, wept like Yukari, and even breathed heavily like Yukari. It was like the Shadow was losing its grip on her and that the Yukari they knew was close to coming back to reality. The smog made it hard for them to see where she was, but when they all spotted her, they could see that she wasn't hovering like she was only moments ago. In fact, her bare feet was brushing the sand as her hunched body hung her head in a drooped position. She still had her face cupped in her hands, sobbing the tears that had lasted for the whole fight.

She was weak; too weak to even lift her body up, and even the energy to cry was difficult for her to savour. And even though it hurt Minato to see her in this way, he and everyone knew that this was a window of opportunity. However, Minato walked towards her and gestured for everyone else to leave. "Alright, guys. I'll keep Yukari busy here. You guys head towards the forest; Fuuka should lead you the way." he ordered, still making his friends his first priority for safety. But just before he could make any more steps towards the Shadow, Chie immediately spoke up. "What?! You're going to fight her alone?! That's insane!" she protested without intention to move from her spot.

"Maybe... but at least you'll all be safe. That's all that matters to me," he said, defending his argument whilst his back was turned to the group, "Besides, I've not been there for you guys... at all. And I should've been. This is just my way of making it up to you all. So please... let me do this... for you." And with that, he made his way. But he only took a couple more steps before again being stopped by a familiar voice.

"Absolutely not." the sombre voice spoke, immediately drawing Minato's attention towards it. Minato turned back to the group and instantly noticed that there were more people there than before. It was then that he realised that all of the S.E.E.S members were there, and all of the people he had just met, including Yu, who still clutched at his ribs and needed support from Rise, were there as well. They had completely gone against Minato's wishes, but at the same time, it was comforting to know that they were all by his side. He had, for several times, asked for them to retreat back to safety, but despite all of those times, his friends, and Yu's friends, didn't want to. Because they all had a common rule with one another, and Yu walked towards him to remind him of it.

"If one of us goes into battle, we all do," he said croakily, holding his chest as he made his way over to Minato, "No one fights alone and no one gets left behind, no matter what happens. It may be a noble thing to do, and I respect you so much for that... but real strength comes from your friends. And there's nothing else in the world that could be stronger. Minato, you've been a leader; surely you must know that." Yu put a hand on Minato's shoulder and looked into his eyes, as if trying to convey to him that it was much more than a golden rule. And when Minato thought back on what he said, he found that it was all true. He couldn't argue with it; it was something he once knew and something he knew so well that he would've hit himself for thinking otherwise. And it was when he realised that it was something he suddenly forgotten, and for the sake of redemption. But when he looked at everyone else who were standing before him, fully revived, full of passion and all smiles towards him, just for a moment, he had seen something beautiful that he hadn't seen in a long time. That was the thing that then changed his mind.

Minato had his head lowered for the whole thought process, but when he was ready, he lifted it up to Yu, full of confidence and with all of his trust placed on his old friends and his new friends. He then shook it. "Of course. I'm such an idiot..." Minato muttered to himself, but for Yu to hear clearly. "... At least now I've been reminded of that... God, what was I thinking?!" It was a question that made them all think that he was beating himself up, but when he turned to everyone else, they could see his smile break through his usual neutral demeanour and realise that he had seen the light.

Yukari suddenly moaned again with her sobs choking her as she did. Everyone turned to her and walked to Minato and Yu's side, ready for their next orders, and the two only stood their looking to one another, unsure of who was the leader at that moment. "Leader?" they both asked each other at the same time, chuckling awkwardly with one another when they realised the coincidence; they knew that they wanted both of them to be leaders and everyone turned to them with looks that, not only suggested that they overheard them, but also that they were thinking the same thing. Without any words, they confirmed it, and turned their attention back to Yukari. Fuuka and Rise came to Minato and Yu's side and discussed the plan of attack.

"Alright you two, her weakness to electrical-related attacks have been exposed. Any attacks of other elements and physical attacks will do normal damage as well." Fuuka explained to the two Wild-Card holders, hinting towards a certain group move that they haven't executed yet. Then Rise joined the discussion. "The last attack Chie and Yukiko did managed to knock Yukari down as well, and from Kanzeon's perspective, she won't be up for some time." she said, also hinting towards that a certain move, and the same one Fuuka was thinking about. Soon enough though, everyone was thinking the same thing, especially Minato and Yu, and when they all had the same idea, there was only one thing to do.

Before any commands could be given though, Minato suddenly felt a small furry sensation on his jeans, and as he looked down, he saw one more loyal familiar face. He bent down to the canine he remembers as the one and only Koromaru, and began to stroke and ruffle his husky fur, noticing that he had retrieved his sword for him. "Koro-chan!" he said as the mutt's tail wagged furiously, "How have you been boy?"

The dog yapped through the handle of the blade and nudged it into Minato's wrist as if to take it from him. As Minato took the blade from Koromaru's teeth, the canine began to pant with an overwhelming happiness, and with one last gentle stroke on his head, Minato got back up to his feet and held the sword to the side.

"Alright then!" Minato shouted to the two groups, somewhat feeling the need to shout louder since there are now more people to lead, "Everyone spread out around Yukari!" And as the orders were made everyone ran to their places, creating a large circle around the Shadow with their weapons of choice and their Evokers at the ready. When everyone was in place, all that was left was to give the order.

Everyone was raring to go; Minato had found the revival plan quite successful in this respect and when he looked to each and every one of the people who were about to make the biggest attack of them all, there couldn't have been more confidence in the team. He and Yu looked to one another, wondering which one of them was going to make the call, and after a moment of silence between the two, Yu spoke up. "Together." he said, emphasising the word as significant.

"Together." Minato said afterwards, pronouncing the word as Yu did.

And then only moments later, Minato and Yu were ready.

Three...

Two...

One...

"All-Out Attack!" they yelled to the group, sprinting forwards with the fourteen-man stampede with their weapons ready and tight in their grip. As one, the group entered battle with the Shadow once more, but with an assault that would signify nothing else than the end of the battle. When they all finally reached Yukari at the same time, they swung, stabbed, slashed, and did anything they could to deal damage in the most devastating way they knew. All matters of combinations were made during that one huge scrap, ranging from Persona attacks to physical attacks and from ranged attacks to close combat, and as every move under the sun was made, it created a large billowing cloud of smoke that shrouded over the violence; it became difficult to see after a while, but they just kept piling on the damage using any means possible.

Yukari screamed with every hit that landed on her and she cried out in pain whenever she knew she couldn't do anything about it. But that was until the cloud had completely disabled them of any sight, which then left a crucial window of opportunity for the Shadow.

Everyone kept on going and dealing more and more damage until they were tired, but before that could've even happened, the wind around them began to pick up at a fast rate; way too fast to be normal. But before anyone could conceive the idea of it happening, the green colours were swirling around them at an impossible rate. And then, a sudden eruption of gales were forced out of Yukari's body. Pushing everyone, and everything away from her.

The punishing hurricanes impacted on their bodies like a whole brick wall had collided with them, and it was so powerful that it managed to push them all back a huge distance away from the Shadow. But as they picked themselves back up to their feet, they noticed that the tornado that suddenly formed around Yukari wasn't stopping, and it then created a barrier between them and the Shadow that no one could get past. Whenever someone got too close or tried to enter the tornado, they would only get forced away again and get hurt in the process. However, the only person who managed to stay within the area, apart from Yukari, was Minato, and when he realised that no one else was inside the tornado with him, he knew that he was in trouble. Huge trouble.

"Minato!" Yu yelled into the twister with every bit of air in his lungs, "Minato, are you okay?!" But no matter how much Yu tried, he never got a reply; the bellowing noises of the winds were so loud that even yelling couldn't top it. In fact, anything that Yu tried to shout to Minato only became blocked out by the rumbling noises of mother nature.

It was now Minato versus the Shadow; his lover, his cherished one. Yukari. He didn't want it to come to this, even if he had wanted to fight her on his own before. But there was only one thing that needed to be done, and even though it hurt him to think about it, he had to do it. For Yukari's sake and for his friends' sake, as well as for his own. However, he was at a disadvantage. All of the energy he used during the All-Out Attack had almost, if not completely left him. He could just barely stand on his two feet and lift his head up to Yukari. But that was all he could muster, and it only put him in a bad position, especially when the battlefield had been reduced drastically.

"STOP HAUNTING ME!" Yukari screamed weakly, hovering like a limping ghost that couldn't heal its mental wounds, "WHENEVER I SHAKE YOU OFF, YOU ALWAYS COME BACK! WHENEVER I TRY TO FORGET ABOUT THE DREAM, YOU JUST COME BACK WHEN I SLEEP! I DON'T WANT TO SUFFER THIS ANYMORE! IF I WANT TO SEE MY MINATO, I WANT TO SEE THE REAL MINATO! A FAKE LIKE YOU JUST WON'T DO!"

Suddenly, Yukari rushed over to Minato with a blinding speed that even he didn't foresee and immediately used both of her cold, frozen hands to grab onto Minato's neck. She knocked him onto his back, and seizing the opportunity, she vigorously pressed her thumbs into his throat, strangling and choking him; she had a tight grip which made Minato panic, and the more she pressed, the more he gagged for air, gasping as his lungs were struggling to cope. "DIE! DIE! DIE!" she screamed into his face, sobbing as she was choking him to death.

"Yu – kari...! Stop... this now...! P... Please...!" he cried out to her, unable to speak and unable to make any sound from his voice-box. His whole windpipe was cut off, and the lightheadedness began to cloud his mind. He was forced to exhale the air he had left, but the struggle to keep it in made it hard for him to shake her off; the effort in trying to shake her off require oxygen, and the more he tried to push her off of him, the more he was letting the air escape from his lungs.

There was all but one thing that was left for him; nothing else was available and there was no other way of winning the battle in this state. He had to summon another Persona to guarantee his safety, but he knew that one Persona might be enough to make him collapse and somewhere his mind told him that one just wasn't enough to end the fight. So there was only one thing for it, and even though he was reluctant to do it, it was a last resort. The very last resort.

He suddenly reached for his Evoker with every bit of muscle power he had left and brought it up as quickly as he could to his head. And then, with his life depending on it, he pulled the trigger with a vigourous finger and called upon the very, very last reserves of his power. "RrrrrraaaaaaRRRRRGGGGHHHH!" he yelled out the azure inferno burst around his body, causing Yukari's Shadow body to get pushed away from him with a herculean might; the indigo flames had covered his whole body, and as if by illusion and magic, they picked him up onto his feet. As the Shadow lied there, powerless, sobbing and without any other way of knowing what to do, Minato just stood there with his eyes suddenly shining with a sapphire glow, as if a power that lied dormant inside him for years had eventually been awoken.

BGM: Shadow - Persona 3 OST

"Is this the 'Minato' you were looking for, Yukari?" he asked the Shadow, gently and calmly as if all pain and suffering had completely left him. The fragile body of Yukari's Shadow continued to lie on the sand, not knowing what else to do. She looked petrified, like all life had left her completely; she cried and cried and the frightened tears she shed landed on the ground, crystallised and stone-cold. "What is happening...? Minato...?" she asked back, sounding as if she had finally realised who it was who was standing in front of her. Minato just didn't know though, and even so, he had already summoned his last effort. It was too late, and he couldn't hold it in any longer.

"Aaaarrrgggh!" Minato yelled in agony as he suddenly hunched over with his head in his hands, groaning as the overwhelming pain in his mind grew and grew. It was like his whole skull was expanding to the point where it might actually explode. But he couldn't stop it now; he was fully committed to the attack. A short moment later, not one, but two Personas materialised onto the battlefield, one after the other. The first to make its entrance was again, the god of thunder, Thor, and the second came Take-Mikazuchi, two pioneers of electrical capabilities.

"Minato...? Is that you...? Is that really, really you...?" the Shadow asked again, attempting to crawl towards Minato with need in her golden eyes. It broke his heart to hear her say that when he was about to unleash his power; if he could stop it he would, but the Personas were ready and the dormant power was coming out. "I'm so, so sorry, Yukari. I hope you can forgive me... when this is over..." he muttered to himself with a choked tone.

With every moment passing, the roaring in his head was getting louder and the unholy pain in his mind was becoming more and more unbearable. But after readying himself and after a few sharp and quick intakes of breath. He suddenly lifted his head up to the heavens and threw his arms out. "AAAAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGGGHHHHHH!" he cried out once more before Thor and Take-Minazuchi raised their hammer and blade into the sky to call forth the Thunder Call.

Clouds suddenly shrouded the area with an ominous atmosphere, and peering through the fog was an orb that had three curved symbols on the face of it. It glowed with a radiant yellow colour, and from that orb, six other orbs of the same glow and symbols spawned to form a ring around the first one. The orbs resonated with one another and radiated even brighter until they revealed a sphere of purple, yellow and dark green colours that seemed to contain a lot of power inside its round shape; it rose up into the air and hovered over Yukari with a threatening amount of uncertainty. Electricity and high quantities of voltage ran through the sphere, and the more volts that were running through it, the more strength it was gathering, thus creating more and more electricity as it grew in power.

But then, when the sphere just couldn't take any more power and when Minato's head had reached a dangerously full capacity, the sphere broke apart into the clouds and a brilliant array of large bolts of lighting suddenly came crashing down. It was constant, brutally battering the Shadow's body and exposing the weak spot a hundred times over, causing her to scream bloody murder as the thunder and lighting came down onto her. Each bolt became larger than the last and the voltage increased with every one that landed onto the ground. The noise was horrendous; the thunder was absolutely savage to the ear, and the screams of the Shadow's merged tones was sickening to hear.

Eventually though, the other-worldly assault ended, and the lighting subsided almost in an instant. With it, the Shadow's tornado around Minato slowly began to die down until there was no gale left. It was as if all the chaos in the world had rapidly come to a stop, and that all noise on the earth had turned to silence.

Minato dismissed Thor and Take-Minazuchi back to the subconscious and looked all around himself for Yukari. His mind was nothing but clouded; the attack had taken a huge toll on his psyche to the point where he was ready to fall onto his front. He felt weak everywhere. He could just barely stand and walk, but his arms were tired, his shoulders were completely exhausted, but his head was under a huge amount of fatigue. No healing abilities could cure his damaged mind, but even though he was in the worst state possible, Minato kept moving and looked everywhere for Yukari, or at least her Shadow.

But then, just when he thought he'd lost her, he suddenly gazed his eyes upon a sad sight. He saw two Yukaris lying there on the sand, immobile and unresponsive. The Shadow version lied a far distance away from the real one, and he was hugely relieved to see the real Yukari still breathing. The fight was long and literally soul-destroying for Minato, but to see the Shadow as a separate entity from Yukari was absolutely worth it for him; he stumbled a lot in his run and he felt like he could collapse at any moment, but he didn't care one bit.

"Yukari...! Yuk... Yukari...!" He called to her as he fell forwards slightly. He rushed to her, running on no energy whatsoever, and after finally reaching her, he fell onto his knees and used his arms to support his weight. He then put one arm under Yukari's back and used the other to support her head. He lifted her up gently and brought her up to close to his head, trying so hard to get a look of her face; he hadn't seen that face in a long time and he couldn't have been more happy to have seen it. But to see her eyes would've meant a lot to him.

"Yukari..." Minato called to her again, hoping that she would wake up, "... Yukari...! Please..." He was so afraid that he had overdone it. That he might've injured her so gravely that her life might've been in danger. He had to know if she was still alive, and he would stay awake after such a mind-crushing challenge to see that she still had some life left in her. The answer came only seconds later.

Yukari's eyes slowly slid open, but only slightly. Minato gasped as he saw those eyes opening before him, and if he had the energy to say something to her, he would. But there was just nothing; he was completely speechless. Yukari may have woken up, but she looked dazed and so, so weak. She looked up at Minato and froze in place when she registered the blue-hair, the pale complexion and his unforgettable sapphire eyes. There was a silence between the two and nothing was happening. But then, as if by a miracle, Yukari managed to raise an arm and use her hand to rest it on Minato's cheek.

The touch of her skin was familiar to Minato, and feeling it after two long years made him smile, even though he didn't have the muscle anymore to show it all. He saw a tear run down Yukari's cheek and he could see that she was trying to mimic the smile. But before she could show him, her eyes slowly closed again and her arm dropped back down to the ground.

"Minato! Yukari!" shouted muffled voices that came from a distance. As he looked up to find the source of the many voices, he could see everyone, even Yu, running towards him with frightened expressions on their faces. He didn't know why, but to Minato time was moving like it was playing out in slow-motion, and as they kept shouting for him and Yukari, he would either hear them very vaguely or not at all; as a result he could only hear the frantic pacing in his breathing. It was as if his mind was utterly scrambled to the point where all sense of hearing and seeing were fading away. Soon after though, he couldn't feel anything. He couldn't taste anything. He couldn't hear anything. And he couldn't see anything.

Eventually, his mind lost all ability to think or work, his energy had completely depleted from his body, and before anyone could reach him, he suddenly lost all ability to function at all.

He could just barely feel his body falling on one side, and after he collapsed onto the sand, he didn't feel a thing. The last thing he saw before he closed his eyes was Yu kneeling down to his side and looking into his eyes before his eyelids could drop.

There was nothing Minato could do to stop his body from failing.

All he could do was let go of the strain in his head, and as he did, everything suddenly relaxed themselves.

He gradually surrendered his mind to the oblivion.

And still breathing, he was gone.

Into the realms of unconsciousness.

**Well, I must say, if you managed to read all of that to the end, I congratulate you, my friend! Fifty-six pages this was... FIFTY-SIX. That's thirty-thousand words! Anyway, I hope you have enjoyed the return of Minato just as I have! Please keep reading and reviewing, because it gives me a nice warm feeling inside when you give me back some of your feedback! I don't think I'll be writing anything this long ever again, I think! But until the next chapter guys! CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Doctor: You'll need for both Minato and Yukari to rest up so that they can make a full recovery._

_Yosuke: Hey, Yu. You okay man?_

_Yu: Hm? Oh yeah, I'm fine._

_Yosuke: That's not what I meant..._


	45. Casualties

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Forty-Five_

_Casualties_

**Hello again guys! You may not see it, but I'm actually still recovering from the last chapter! I don't think I'll be writing anything that long anytime soon, I tell you! So for now, things are going to calm down a bit and we'll go back to the good ol' moderately-sized chapters, just so I can adjust myself again. But welcome to the forty-fifth chapter! Will it ever end? We'll never know! But onwards with the chapter! LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0810 - Afternoon - The Real World - Tatsumi Hall_

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><p>They were all glad that they left the TV world in one piece, and they were all the more pleased that Yukari was safe and sound in their care. But even though there were so many positives after the fight, everyone was quiet; the glum and gloomy atmosphere left no sound and not one voice wanted to break the uncomfortable silence that loomed in the air. The only sound they could hear was the rain that continued to crash down onto the concrete outside the Tatsumi Hall, and even though it was a natural sound, everyone was sick of it, especially when two of their friends were now unconscious, still unable to wake up from their slumber.<p>

Most of the group were sat and stood around Yukari's bed, watching with hope that she would open her eyes. But all they could see was her chest rise and fall in a steady pace, and no other movement was made. She was still breathing, but she was still damaged in the mind; that much they knew. But what they didn't know was the severity of it. As Yu, Mitsuru, Aigis, Rise, Chie, Fuuka and Yukiko gathered around Yukari, the doctor from the Tatsumi Memorial Hospital, who was also there, continued to diagnose the symptoms.

The doctor took out a small pen-sized torch from his suit pocket and used his other hand to gently open one of Yukari's eyes using his index finger and his thumb. Getting a good view of her eye, the doctor then flicked the small torch on and shone the light straight into her iris, getting head closer for a better view of what he was trying to find. He had done other checks beforehand and nothing seemed to have been wrong apart from her extreme lack of energy, but when he suddenly spotted something in Yukari's eye, everyone reacted to his expression of understanding.

He switched his torch off and placed it back into the inside of his suit jacket, turning round to the others as he did so. "Well, doctor?" Mitsuru asked, expressing the same concern everyone else was feeling. Upon being asked, the doctor gave a smile so forced that it let everyone know that it wasn't good news. But the way he spoke suggested otherwise. "It was just as you said. Yukari is undergoing extreme fatigue, and I believe that she had been deprived of sleep for some time now which would've probably made an impact on her unconsciousness. But it's not severe at all; she should wake up by tomorrow once her body and mind has been recovered adequately."

Everyone could understand what the doctor was talking about; hearing that she had been sleep-deprived was no surprise to them. Her Shadow had made it explicitly clear that Yukari was haunted by the false happiness of her dreams, and that might've suggested that her lack of sleep was a last effort to get rid of the dreams. They all looked down at the floor, but the doctor wasn't finished yet. "Did you mention to me that she had very recently been through trauma?" he asked Mitsuru, somewhat suggesting something worse to her.

"Y-Yes. That's correct." she replied nervously, looking down at Yukari with a sisterly concern. At this point, everyone desperately wanted to know, but they didn't have to wait long for the verdict. "Well, after looking at her eyes, I'm afraid there's something else," the doctor explained, already raising everyone's worries to new heights; but before anyone could expect it, the doctor continued, "due to her trauma, the psychological effects that came about from it may seem to have caused her to become blind in both eyes..."

As soon as they all heard that one word that stood out from all the others, everyone recoiled at the news and immediately gave the doctor multiple shocked expressions. Fright buzzed through their bodies as if they had been frozen through all in a few seconds. "Blind?!" Rise asked as she rushed to Yukari's side with nothing but worry, "You mean, she won't be able to see again?!" The doctor could tell that everyone was completely stricken with thoughts for the worst, and he looked like he understood how everyone felt. But he held up a hand to Rise, gesturing for her to calm down. "You needn't worry. Her blindness is only temporary," he reassured the group, watching them as they sighed in relief at different times, "in fact, from my diagnosis, I'm quite confident that she will no doubt be able to see again in the next two to three days. I will have to entrust you with giving her this news once she wakes up; I think it'll be better for her friends to tell her than a doctor she hardly knows."

"But will she be okay?" Yu then asked, standing up from the seat he was sitting in which made him clutch at his chest with an ice pack to relieve the pain. Yu knew that the doctor was saying that everything will be alright, but he couldn't just pass it off as just that; he needed to know if Yukari would truly be okay. The doctor walked over to Yu and gently used both of his hands to sit him back down in the seat. "Don't move too much, Yu. The bruises in your ribs will only worsen otherwise," he advised, reminding him on the condition he's in, "but to answer your question, she most certainly will. Don't worry."

The confidence in his answer gave the group hope, but every time they looked back down to Yukari, they only wished that she could wake up at that moment. But from what the doctor said, they knew they had to wait until she did. He walked over to the side of Yukari's bed and then turned back to everyone. "Excuse me, doctor," Fuuka then asked out of the silence shyly and hugely concerned for her friend, "but... what did you mean by 'psychological effects' after trauma? Do you mean that... that her blindness was caused by her own mind?"

"It's a complicated condition to have, but think of it this way..." the doctor began his reply with a small gesture of his hands, "... Imagine the mind had a switch that could turn the sense of sight on and off depending on what the person is seeing. It is scientifically proven that extremely horrific images or experiences can be enough to cause a person blindness; in it's extreme case, the blindness can go on for long periods of time, but in Yukari's case, it's only temporary as I've said. So, this is one way you could look at it; after Yukari had undergone whatever traumatic event she had encountered, the experience was powerful enough to flick the switch in her mind off. It's a psychological safety mechanism the brain has, in so far to say that it tries to keep the person from looking back at what caused the trauma in the first place. Does that make sense to you?"

It was quite a lot to take in, especially since it was all happening to Yukari. But they were more relieved knowing the full extent of her condition. She may not be awake, and her mind was still in the process of recovering from such a huge amount of traumatic experiences, but she was nonetheless out of danger, and that was all that mattered to them. "So... she will be able to see...? In time...?" Aigis asked, wanting to be extremely sure that Yukari was going to make a full recovery.

"Of course. Her mind will need to recover for a couple of days, but her sight should be back by then. However, if her blindness is still there, let us know." the doctor reassured once more before he looked to everyone else for any more questions. All he saw were looks of understanding and faces that looked to one another for any sign of comfort. They had been waiting with bated breath for the whole day to find out the true severity of Yukari's condition; but the doctor's verdict was much more comforting to hear. However, the uncertainty didn't subside just yet. There was one more person who needed to be seen. "Thank you very much, doctor," Mitsuru gratefully said, turning her body towards the door to indicate the exit, "There's another person downstairs we want you to see. But I must ask you one thing."

"Anything." the doctor said briefly, preparing himself for what Mitsuru had to ask him. At first, she was reluctant to even bring him up, but she wanted to know as much as anyone else if he was also safe in his current condition; the doctor could see the troubled look on her face, and as he scanned his eyes across the room, he could tell that everyone else was equally as concerned. However, some of them were quite wary of what Mitsuru was asking of the doctor. They knew that letting someone out of their group know of Minato's live existence was a dangerous thing to do; it would alert police and it would attract unwanted attention from the press and other media. They knew that they weren't ready for that, not when the investigation still had a lot of missing pieces in the puzzle. "Well," Mitsuru admitted with a sigh, as if defeated by the lack of excuses, "there's no other way I can say this. It's Minato Arisato. I probably don't need to remind you of who he is."

All of a sudden, Chie leapt from her spot and rushed to Mitsuru's side, panicking and hugely concerned for what this meant now that she had told the doctor about him. She shook her shoulder and urged for her to give her attention. "Mitsuru-senpai, what are you doing?!" she whispered with a stern tone, hoping to find a way to change the confused look on the doctor's face, "Aren't we suppose to keep Minato a secret?!"

"It's alright, Chie..." Mitsuru said reassuringly, facing her body towards the green jacket with confidence, "... This doctor has provided for us for many years now. He's part of the Kirijo Group, and he studied medicine within the institution, far differently than other doctors." Everyone had overheard, and judging from the doctor's flattered expression, they knew that they heard her right. They were somewhat confused and slightly baffled, but it didn't take long for Yukiko to finally grasp what Mitsuru was suggesting. "Wait," she said out of the silence to the doctor, "You don't happen to specialise in providing care for Persona-users, do you?"

"That is correct," the doctor replied, chuckling when he saw the huge wave of shocked expressions coming in from the Investigation Team, "I'm one of very few who took the practice. We focus more on the psychological aspects of the mind and the effects of what the Kirijo Group calls the 'potential'. We're like normal doctors, just with a greater knowledge of what the brain is capable of." After the surprising revelation, everyone felt more at ease now that they had a proper doctor who knew the entirety of Yukari's condition; a normal doctor would've questioned it much earlier, but he was certain.

"Anyway, as I was saying..." Mitsuru spoke as she gently cleared her throat, "I must ask you to keep Minato's being here a secret. I hope you can understand our situation here..." Everyone seemed desperate for the doctor's approval of their plead, and tried as they had, they couldn't stop showing it in their expression. However, he could only chuckle as if the urgency wasn't necessary. "Don't worry. Nothing about Arisato will leave the building. I'm a doctor after all; I'm in no place to share sensitive or confidential information anyway, especially since I work within the confines of the Kirijo Group."

When the doctor explained, everyone was somewhat surprised at how calmly and composed he was towards the news of Minato's livelihood, and then at the same time, they reminded themselves that they were in the presence of a doctor who specialises in strange cases such as these. But even more so, they were relieved that the doctor could cooperate with keeping Minato a secret between teenagers and Kirijo Group employee. So far, everything was good news for the group, but the doctor then turned back round to the door and stepped backwards, using his arm to gesture Mitsuru's lead in a gentlemanly manner; there was one more person to see after all. "I'll see him now. Lead the way, Mitsuru." he said with his confident tone of reassurance.

She nodded in gratitude to him as she walked out through the door, looking behind herself to see if everyone else was following suit. They were all slowly filtering out of Yukari's room; they tried to be quiet about it, even though they knew that she was unconscious and not just merely asleep. But they didn't want to disturb if there was any chance of it happening. As Yu made his way towards Minato's room with everyone else, he struggled to keep the bruised ribs from hurting. The more he walked, the more it kept irritating his chest, but he had Rise and Aigis at his side to keep him comfortable.

The walk towards Minato's room was a silent one, and no one wanted to speak above the sound of the storm to break it. They had such good news so far, but they knew that their luck was likely to go sour at some point, and because Minato was the final patient to be seen, they were all worried for his sake; they saw what had become of him after he had dealt that fatal attack, and they knew that a power of that magnitude would've probably done some unimaginable damage to his mind. They could only think on it though and hope that third time's the charm. It's been one thing after another with the group, and wanted at least one day, even if it was for a few moments, for things to just go right. They all went down the stairs with the doctor following closely behind them, and after going down the boy's hallway of Tatsumi Hall, Mitsuru opened the door to Minato's room and allowed everyone to enter in a single-file.

Along with Minato's unconscious body on the bed, the rest of the group were also there to overlook his recovery. Their heads turned round one at a time; there was Naoto, Junpei, Yosuke, Koromaru, Akihiko, Kanji and Ken, who were all sat around Minato's bed, somewhat startled from the door opening. They had been watching Minato's chest rise and fall in a steady pace for the last few minutes, and Naoto and Akihiko had seemed to have been discussing amongst themselves until the rest of the group arrived.

Some of them stood up, and some of them didn't know if they would leave their seat, but they were all concerned for the news of Yukari. "Well? Is she okay?" Akihiko immediately asked when he saw Mitsuru walk through the door, rising to his feet in worry. Mitsuru forced a smile and nodded. "Don't worry, her condition isn't as severe as we thought," she answered, trying to fight the urge to rush her words, "the doctor explained to us that her trauma had caused her to become blind-"

"Huh?! Blind?! But how does that work?!" Yosuke interrupted as he suddenly stood up from his seat, concerned just as all the others were when they heard the shocking news. Mitsuru gestured for them all to calm down and lowered her head slightly with her eyes closed, as if she was composing herself from the sudden outburst. "Let me finish," she said in reassurance, still using her hand to stop anyone else from talking over her, "it's only temporary though. It's a psychological infliction and occurred naturally, but she'll be able to see soon enough. She'll also awake in the next few days as well; she's completely safe."

As soon as she finished explaining Yukari's ailment, they all relaxed their bodies and sighed in relief in unison. But they were then reminded that Minato still needed to be check on; looking back on what he had done to get Yukari back from her Shadow's clutches, they were all concerned about how much damage had been caused to his body. Just from the sight of him, he looked rough, and now that he was in the light, the bruised and battered features on his skin were showing. They were only glad, and still somewhat in disbelief, that he was breathing.

"Well, at least that's one of them on the mend," Junpei said with only the slightest bit of confidence, even though he was glad to hear of Yukari's recovery, "but... what about Minato, doc? I don't mean to sound like a defeatist, but he looks like he's in bad shape." It had been two years since he had seen his best friend alive like this, so everyone could understand what would've gone through his mind; they could tell that he didn't want to think on how he was even alive, but instead focused on his recovery now that he was. It was like he and the others who felt this way were hoping to recover something they had initially lost but then found again despite all odds of it ever happening.

The doctor weaved around everyone and finally came to the side of Minato's bed, looking down on his body as he pulled out a stethoscope from around his collar. "Well he does seem that way from the amount of bruising and cuts he has on him, but then you all have had your fair share of the good fight as well. It shouldn't serious at all." he explained as he did his brief diagnosis of the outer body; but he knew as well as any qualified doctor, especially with a rank of his standard, that scanning his eyes across a few cuts wasn't going to find the potential problems Minato had.

He leaned over with the stethoscope fixed firmly in his ears, bringing the circular diaphragm down on his chest to search for the heartbeat. When he found it, he listened intently to the beat; no one but he could tell if his vitals were normal, and everyone leaned forwards in anticipation for an answer. The doctor flicked his wrist and looked down at his watch and counted the amount of heartbeats whilst counting for a few ticks. "His heart rate is normal. That's a good sign..." he said with confidence, moving the diaphragm slowly and slightly across the chest until he found the lungs, "... You mentioned that he had been underwater. There doesn't seem to be any sign of fluid and he's breathing normally." Everyone was hopeful for good news and hearing the doctor's confident diagnosis on him was relieving to hear. But he hadn't finished yet; there was still one internal organ left to check, and it was one that was vital in his line of work. The brain.

After checking the upper body, the doctor wrapped his stethoscope around his suit collar and pulled out his small torch again from his pocket, leaning forwards slightly more to get closer to Minato's head. Then, just as he did with Yukari, he opened one of his eyes with his fingers and switched on the torch, shining the light into his iris to find any abnormalities. "Um, doctor?" Ken shyly spoke up, "Err, aren't you going to check his... his head?"

It was a question on everyone's lips, but the answer came very naturally to the doctor. He still made his observations, but managed to answer it whilst continuing with his work. "It seems like I should be, huh?" the doctor replied, still looking carefully into Minato's iris, "Diagnosis of the brain works differently with casualty Persona-users. Instead of MRI scans and such, we look into the eyes. Summoning Personas has an effect on the body in many ways; one of them being small anomalies in the eyes. They don't have any effect themselves, but they can indicate symptoms of a much larger problem is abnormal enough... I did the same diagnosis technique with Yukari and that's how I found out about her blindness; because her mind was exerted from her Shadow's power, the same technique is used; Shadows and Personas are the same thing after all."

It was intriguing to the group that they were hearing this knowledge from a doctor who specialises in a line of work that wouldn't have existed without the Kirijo Group and the existence of Personas. And the more they listened, the more they found interest in it. The doctor continued. "... In Minato's case, I can tell that he hasn't been summoning his Persona for a long time; the prolonged lack of use would've relaxed his irises. And because he had exercised a lot of power in one go last night, as you have explained to me, Mitsuru, it's now put small abnormalities in the membrane – that means that there has been a huge strain and exhaustion of the brain."

After being silent for a moment, Naoto eventually spoke up. "Do the anomalies suggest anything severe, doctor?" she asked, asking the question that was everyone's lips. The doctor had explained how it works, but not the full report of what was ailing Minato. A silence filled the room, and the doctor didn't turn around to them until he finished examining both eyes and switched his torch off. When he did so, he placed it back into the inside of his chest pocket and gave his full attention to everyone with his verdict at the ready. "It's good news actually," the doctor said with another tone of confidence, instantly dispelling all of the worries from everyone's minds; as he heard the sighs of relief follow through, he continued to explain, "he does have a few abnormal spots in his iris', but they're so minute that it suggests that the only effects on Minato's brain are just that of exhaustion and natural internal pain since he hadn't exerted a huge amount of power until last night. From this, I can safely say that he'll most likely awake by tomorrow."

It was a result, and a great one at that. No one was expecting for the news to be so positive, and because of it, some even recoiled in surprise at how miraculous it all sounded. They all couldn't help but smile and breath out more sighs of relief. From all of this, they could tell that their visit into the TV world was a success. Both Minato and Yukari are now safe and sound. But when they all looked back to Minato, something inside them just felt eerie; like they wanted to be happy that he was now alive but they just couldn't. They could only describe it to themselves as a lack of satisfaction. They didn't know why they felt this way and they don't know what the point of feeling it was, but it was there, and all they could do was question it. However, all that mattered to them was the safety of their two friends. "Of course, you'll need for both Minato and Yukari to rest up so that they can make a full recovery. No disturbing them, alright?" the doctor asked, only as a reminder for the group.

They all nodded, taking on his advice with a gladness for what they had heard today. Everyone was very grateful. "Oh, thank you so much, doctor! We've been worried all day you see..." Fuuka spoke on behalf of the team, expressing her relief with an emphasis in her words. The doctor chuckled in a friendly manner and shook his head, almost bashfully. "You're welcome, but I only did the diagnosis. You were the ones who prevented their symptoms from getting worse. Letting them fight on their own would've made the strain on their minds much worse, I'd imagine." he said kindly, shifting the importance from him to the others.

It felt odd for the team to have come out of one of the most dangerous operations in the TV world they've ever encountered and suddenly have their luck turned around; they fought long and hard for their victory, but none of them had expected to get such a result as they had that day. They could finally rest easy once again; Minato and Yukari were now in their care and it was up to them to give them a full recovery. But again, when they're minds came onto Minato, that same feeling of uncertainty crept back into their stomachs. They wanted to be happy that he was alive, but it was the fact that he was alive and not dead that made them feel this way. They couldn't put their finger on it, no matter how hard they tried to figure it out. And that's when they realised that they needed answers from Minato himself; they needed to ask him the questions that were on their minds from the moment they saw him in the TV world.

Why was he alive? How did he come back to life? Why now, during the investigation? There were so many questions running across their minds and it disturbed them to think of what answers he might give.

The doctor suddenly snapped them out of their thinking. "Well, I guess I'll be off then," he said, gesturing for his leave. Akihiko walked to his side and began to lead him towards the door. "Thanks again, doctor. You've been a big help," he thanked him once again, looking behind him to see the doctor following suit, "I'll show you the way out."

"Oh! Before I go..." the doctor said in outburst when a thought suddenly sprung to mind; he halted in his tracks and turned back round to the group before continuing with what he wanted to say, "... I'll need to give Yukari a sleeping blindfold. She'll need her eyes closed as much as possible, and any eye-opening will slow down the process of recovery. I'll also come round for daily check-ups for both her and Minato to see how it's going. Is that alright with you?"

"Of course." Mitsuru briefly replied, still have the unsure feeling inside her that everyone else was feeling. And with that, the doctor made his farewell and everyone said their goodbyes as he and Akihiko made their way upwards towards Yukari's room once more to give her the blindfold; they then headed back down the stairs to the entrance of Tatsumi Hall. Shortly after, everyone left Minato's room in a single-file, also making their way to the ground floor to meet up with Nanako and Marie who were waiting with one another in the lounge area. They were all talking amongst themselves; some were happy and some still had that lingering feeling that didn't quite fit well in their chest. For Yu, he didn't know whether his bruised ribs were just acting up or if the feeling was putting pressure on his chest.

He was supported by Rise and Yosuke who walked at his sides in case he would have a sudden injury added to his pain. "Hey, Yu. You okay man?" Yosuke asked him, trying to get a look of his best friend's face. Yu suddenly darted his head towards him as if he had been snapped out of a daydream; he looked somewhat troubled and when Yu looked to Yosuke so did he. Their expressions almost matched. "Hm? Oh yeah, I'm fine. Hopefully this pain will go away quicker with the painkillers the doctor gave me." he replied, putting on a grin for his bro to see.

"That's not what meant..." Yosuke corrected him, straight after the last word Yu said. At first, Yu was confused as to what Yosuke was trying to point out, but then after a while, he noticed the mirrored expression; it was like they were both thinking the same thing, but Yu had a suspicion that it was the case. He always knew how to read Yosuke's expressions. Mostly. "Oh, you've got that feeling too...?" Yu then asked, sinking his own mind back into the thought of it.

"Yeah... I mean, it's great that Minato's back and all, but why? There has to be a reason for it, right?" Yosuke posed the question that was on everyone's lips; he had seen everyone else's expression before leaving Minato's room and he couldn't mistake it for any other reaction. Everyone was definitely thinking the same thing, and he definitely wasn't the only one who knew what needed to be done. If there wanted to get rid of the sickly feeling churning their guts, there was only way to do it. They needed to find out the answers to those questions from Minato himself. There were still so many to answer, but Minato's being here and now could at least shed some light on what is going on; why here's here, why he's alive and what it'll mean.

"I feel the same way as well, but we shouldn't just dwell on it..." Rise then said, using her arms to wrap around Yu's own so that she could support her. After what she said though, Yu and Yosuke looked towards her with a weird look; they could see what she meant, but they couldn't think of anything else to dwell on. The magnitude of the situation was just too much to just let go for a day, and after a while of thinking on it, Rise suddenly changed her mind. "... Okay... maybe we'll be spending most of our time thinking on it. But...! But... Hmm, this is hard." she murmured, loud enough for the two friends to hear.

What she had said summed up everything that everyone was thinking; there was just no other way to divert their thoughts from it, and for the rest of the day, it lingered in their heads like a haunted memory. The thought of Minato being alive was joyous for the team, but at the same time, there was an overwhelming chilling sensation about it, as if he had come back from the dead as a ghost. But they've seen his 'spirit' before Yukari plunged into the TV world, but to have seen him there an then, and now in a bed in an unconscious state was still hard to believe in, even though they had each made contact with him during the fight. All they could do was wait until he woke up the next day, and hope that the light shed by the answers would be a merciful one.

For the rest of the day though, everyone carried on with their afternoon with a mix of emotions. Some put on a brave face and a smile for Nanako, some were lost in thought and winced at the many ideas floating around in their cranium, and some just didn't talk, sitting in their seats whilst trying to occupy themselves with their mobile phones or by looking out the window. One thing was for sure though, Minato's presence had seemed to change everything.

Nervousness was all they could feel. And as they looked to one another, they were all wondering who was going to get some sleep tonight. The day brought good news, only to have spawned new questions, a new confused investigation, and new reasons to be afraid. As for how many people were likely to go to sleep that night, the list was just too long.

**Another sensibly-sized chapter for you! Forty-six less than my last one, but I've been put off writing chapters written to behemoth size! Anyway, thank you so much again for reading guys, it is very appreciated! Keep reading and reviewing and I hope to see you in Chapter Forty-Six where the answers will be revealed... CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Minato: I guess you all have a lot of questions on your mind. I have a lot to answer for anyway..._

_Akihiko: They're the kind of criminals that like to play games..._

_Aigis: ... Are you saying... that you didn't want us to know...? About you being alive...?_

_Naoto: It seems we're nowhere closer to finding out the truth of their plan._


	46. Once A Fool

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Forty-Six_

_Once A Fool..._

**It is good to see you again! Welcome to the forty-sixth chapter of the story! Nearly at the fifty mark, so let's get there, eh?! Really sorry I was away for song long ONCE AGAIN guys! I was undergoing writer's burnout for a while, and my holidays had started, so I was taking some time off. So, so sorry for that everyone, but I hope this chapter will be worth the wait! But now, onwards with the story! LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0810 – Early Morning – Tatsumi Hall_

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><p>Everyone couldn't have been more grateful for the fact that the Midnight Channel didn't broadcast another face last night. But although they had been given a priority to sleep, no one could until the early hours of the morning. During that time, they had only kept their eyes open, watching the night transition from the Dark Hour to the normality of the dull Iwatodai. Because of it, everyone had woken up earlier than they would've wanted and dressed themselves before the time for breakfast was sensible. Even the most minuscule of things that been hugely affected by the last couple of days, and it was all down to Minato's being here, alive when he shouldn't have been. It was a lot to take in one go, and for everyone, they had to adjust to it. It was like everything had been shifted out of balance. As if Minato's presence wrought chaos into the minds of the comprehensible. No one could stand it anymore; they needed answers from the man himself, for they thought it to be the only way to quell their uneasiness.<p>

The first to arrive at Minato's room was Aigis; she sat beside Minato's bed with her usual upright position, looking down on his calmed and exhausted face. She had sat in her seat for almost half an hour, watching for any movements of life from him, but no matter how hard she looked for a sign of waking up, she could only find the repetitive rising and falling of his chest. Of course, breathing was a vital component for someone to live; Aigis knew that much, but she only thought that it wasn't enough. She needed to see him open his eyes, speak or even twitch a bit just to give her hope. But without any of those movements, everything seemed still and silent. Aigis never spoke; she just let the remoteness of the situation block out everything around her, watching over Minato with a sisterly protection.

After a while of sitting in silence, Aigis turned her head to the door that suddenly creaked open. Out from the hallway came Yu who had already been fully dressed and ready. Aigis could see that he had only just come out of the shower since his grey hair was still slightly soaked and slick in places. She could see that he was exhausted but with a persistent look that made her think that he didn't want to fall asleep. He was just as troubled as she was.

His head turned towards her and his expression immediately turned to surprise. "Oh... Good morning, Aigis..." he greeted her with a croaky tone, shutting the door behind himself before making his way over to her, "... You're up early." He drew a chair closer to her and sat down when it was nearer to Minato's bed. He rubbed his tired eyes with a vigorous action of his index finger and blinked twice when the sleep was catching up to him. "So are you, Yu-san," she replied, getting the impression from Yu that he expected her to be awake at such a time, "Why though? Did you have trouble sleeping last night?"

"Couldn't sleep a wink. There was a lot on my mind," Yu replied, fighting the urge to yawn, "everyone else is downstairs as well; I don't think any of them slept either."

"I see. They didn't want to come up?

"They sent me to check up on Minato to see if he was awake yet. They didn't want everyone to disturb him. But... it looks like nothing will wake him at the moment."

"I just hope he will..."

Yu could tell that Aigis wasn't in the mood for talking; no one was. And in fact, talking probably couldn't make things any better. The only time it will is when Minato will wake up. But just seeing him dead asleep was making them anxious for answers. Everything about Minato was a mystery in itself; to have a near-death experience would be understandable, but to come back from the dead after such a long time was nothing short of impossible. That word always stood out in their head whenever they thought or saw Minato. Impossible. And it made them very uncomfortable, being starved and deprived of any knowledge as to how he did it. Yu saw it in Aigis' face that she couldn't cope with the lack of solution to the problem. He knew that look anywhere, not only because he had seen the same expressions on his friends' faces from the last investigation, but also because he was also feeling that twisted feeling of nervousness inside him.

"Are you okay, Aigis?" he asked her, making sure that his instincts were right. Aigis' head turned towards Yu with a look that seemed like it contrasted with her true feelings; she tried to neutralise her looks, but before long, her confused and lost expression took over. She then turned back to the breathing Minato lowering her head with her eyes closed. "No... I'm not..." she answered under her breath.

Understanding Aigis' troubles, Yu's eyes slowly moved over to Minato. He sighed and shifted his chair closer to Aigis. "Aigis... don't worry. We're all confused; you're not the only one," he said in reassurance, placing a gentle friendly hand on her tensed golden-plated shoulder, "once he wakes up though, we'll find out what's going on." His gentle gesture to bring Aigis out of depression sought for some form of comfort in her, but nothing changed about her expression; not even an acknowledgement of his attempt to keep her happy. She just stared at Minato as did Yu when all went silent once more.

But after only a short uncomfortable moment listening to the rain thrashing down outside, Aigis' head slightly turned with her eyes looking blankly at the wall. "What do you think, Yu-san?" she asked him, almost confusing him at first as to what she was trying to ask of him. He cocked his head with a look that sought for a repeat in her question. "Hm?" he hummed.

"How did he come back?" she phrased her question, "How is he... how is he alive?" It was a question everyone was asking; no matter how many times they asked themselves though, no one could come up with an answer, not even one that had some nonsense to it. They would only know when Minato would wake up to answer it. But until then, no one was going to put it to rest. They themselves couldn't get any of it. "I couldn't tell you..." Yu replied, finding no solution whatsoever, "... there's only one person we could ask though."

When Aigis realised who he'd meant, everything suddenly went silent again. All they could do was wait for Minato's awakening, and during that time, none of them spoke a word. They just watched him breath the air through his mouth and continued to wonder when his eyes would open. Everything was still though, completely motionless, as if Minato was at the centre of the room. But that was exactly just that; everything revolved around him, and none of them could ignore it. Only the sound of the rain was heard and nothing more; they were both sick of the sound, and listen to it pattering on the windows only made the atmosphere more morbid.

A few moments later though, the door creaked open once again and through that door came Naoto and Akihiko; the detectives of the group. As Yu and Aigis watched them come through the doorway, they could only think about what made them come up to Minato's room. They were trained to investigate after all, and they weren't called the Detective Prince and Trainee Police Detective for nothing. "Hey there." Akihiko greeted in his morning tone, gruffly and without energy or enthusiasm. "Good morning, Yu. Aigis." Naoto greeted afterwards, expressing the same croaky tone Akihiko had.

"Morning..." Yu and Aigis said in unison to the detective duo, watching them as they approached them with slow strides and eyes that suggested the same lack of sleep they had. There was an uncomfortable pause before Akihiko broke through the silence. "I guess he's still not awake then..." he said, folding his arms and lowering his head as he casted sad eyes on Minato's unconscious body. Naoto's expression wasn't any different; she took off her cap and held it to her side, also lowering her head. "Well, the doctor didn't mention anything about Minato waking in the morning. However... I only wish he would," Naoto said with a mawkish tone, "There's so much that hasn't been explained. I couldn't sleep just thinking about it."

"It's the same for all of us," Yu said, recalling the many tired faces and yawns he saw in that one morning before coming up to Minato's room; he then wondered why Akihiko and Naoto had suddenly come up, "Hey, why did you guys come up here?"

"You didn't come back downstairs, so Akihiko and I assumed that Minato had woken up." Naoto replied briefly, trying to keep her voice down. Yu understood; he had meant to return to the lounge to let the rest of the group know about what Minato's status was. But after seeing Aigis in the room, all by herself, he knew that he couldn't just leave her to suffer her confused emotions. He had been the only person to notice, but before long, Akihiko then saw her expression. "Aigis... are you okay?" he asked her with a tone that suggested that he saw her sadness. Aigis just shook her head, lowering her eyes to the floor when she heard him sigh. "It did come as quite a shock..." Akihiko said when he walked over to the humanoid, "... I don't blame you. I'm still don't believe it myself... even though we had a suspicion that he might've come back."

Suddenly, Yu's eyes widened in surprise, just as Aigis shot her head up to Akihiko as if she had heard something completely ludicrous. "Huh?" Aigis asked, almost in outburst with her eyes looking as if they demanded for answers. Yu was just as awake; like Aigis, he thought that he might've heard Akihiko wrong, but he had to make sure. "Wait. What did you say?" he asked with a rush of words, turning his body on the chair in anticipation for an explanation. After realising what he had said, Akihiko put on an expression that made him seem like he said something that he shouldn't have; he rubbed the back of his head and chuckled at his mishap with a small gesture of defeat. "Me and my big mouth..." he said under his breath, "... but I guess it had to be said at some point."

"We'll explain once Minato wakes up," Naoto suggested, hoping to quell the looks of surprise and burning curiosity from Yu and Aigis' faces, "we'd knew that he'd still be alive somehow, but our theories are yet to be tested. For now though, please be patient." Naoto couldn't have said to more like that police detective in the way that she did, and when Yu and Aigis listened to her say, they both couldn't help but think that asking for patience wasn't all that necessary; they'd been awake for so long that waiting was the only thing they wanted to do, and they were starting to grow uncomfortably accustomed to it as if it was becoming as normal as breathing.

Yu nodded in understanding and turned his eyes back to Minato for the umpteenth time. His position hadn't changed, nor did the breathing pattern he had been sustaining for a long period of time. And it was then that Yu knew that staying in the room with Minato will only make him more anxious for his awakening; it was unlikely that he was going to wake up now, especially at this time in the morning. "Maybe we should go back downstairs," he said suggestively, wincing and gritting his teeth at the pain in his chest as he rose from his chair, "everyone might be wondering where we are. Minato's probably not going to wake up any time soon either." Akihiko and Naoto nodded agreement. They all knew that crowding around Minato wasn't going to make things better. "Sure thing," Akihiko said in agreement, looking to Aigis afterwards, "Aigis, are you staying here?"

"N-No... I'll come down as well..." Aigis replied, somewhat in an inaudible mumble before getting up from her seat. Looking at Minato one more time before leaving the room, the four made their way to the door in a slow walking pace, dragging their feet on the carpet as they did. They went in single file, and quietened their footsteps as they approached the hallway, doing the best they could do to not disturb Minato even though they knew that nothing could wake him.

But then, just as Akihiko reached for the doorknob, they all heard a slight grunt come from behind them. They immediately turned around and found that the sound came from where Minato laid. And when they looked towards him again, they suddenly saw him moving. Minato lifted himself off the bed with his elbows and supported himself whilst he held his head in his hand. He winced and groaned at what seemed like pain, and his eyes were squinted, adjusting themselves to the light. When they saw this happen, they instantly turned on their heels and walked straight to him with looks of astonishment.

"Ngh... my head..." Minato muttered to himself as his hand dropped from his forehead to his eyes. It was evident that the exerted power from the couple of nights before had a lasting effect on his mind, but they knew that kind of power enough to know that it would've gave anyone more than just a splitting headache. "Whoa, hey, don't move so much, buddy..." Akihiko said in caution to his blue-haired friend, placing a supporting hand on his shoulder, "... you feeling alright?"

"Akihiko-senpai..." Minato replied as he removed the hand from the pain in the side of his lobe, looking up at him before scanning his eyes across to the other three who were standing alongside him, "... So that did happen. I knew I didn't just imagine it..." Minato looked dazed, as if the fight from two nights ago had completely drained him of all life. But that wasn't the case anymore; he had already suffered that particular fate. And to some of them, the look on his face suggested that he must've forgotten about everything from that night before. Before anyone could mention it though, Aigis spoke up.

"Minato-san..." she uttered, choked up and with eyes that shone as the tears began to form. She stepped forward, still hardly believing what she was seeing in front of her. It was the first time in two years since she had seen him alive in the light of day, and she could only think that she was dreaming. She didn't know whether if this was real or not, and to confirm it, there was only one thing for it. She lunged herself forward with arms wide open and embraced Minato with a sisterly affection, almost knocking him back into the pillows. "This is..." she spoke again, gasping for breath as she sobbed, "... this is real...? But how...? How...?"

It broke Minato's heart when he heard his close android friend weep into his shoulder. He knew that she was undoubtably confused and unable to comprehend any of what was happening. He hugged her back for the second time and looked up to other three. "It's alright, Aigis... I'm here now..." he said into her ear, shaking his head when he had no other words to say, "... I'm so sorry." His tone sounded nothing short of guilt, but his exhaustion only made him lost for words; he didn't know what to say to Aigis other than he was sorry, and that made everyone wonder why. There was no reason to, so they thought. But it was because of that lack of reason that sparked yet another question in their minds.

It was somewhat clear to them that he had a guilty conscience. But the cause of it was something they needed to find out. Minato and Aigis pulled away from each other, and before she went back to Yu's side, he wiped the tears away from her eyes and placed an apologetic hand on her shoulder. He then turned to Akihiko. "Is everyone okay?" he asked with friendly concern. The trainee detective stood forward. "We're all fine," he replied, forcing a smile to welcome his good friend and leader back, "Everyone else is downstairs waiting..."

"... And... Yukari?" Minato then asked again, looking away from the four as he spoke. He was looking towards the door, as if intending to walk straight out of the room at towards wherever Yukari was. But he knew that he was too much in a state to just simply get on his feet and leave; he still felt slightly dizzy from the encounter and even if he did leave the room to go look for her, he wouldn't have known the way anyway. He wasn't in the Iwatodai Dorm anymore, he knew that much. "She's safe now, but she'll need time to recover," Yu answered, walking up to the side of Minato's bed, "The doctor came round yesterday and he said that she should wake up in the next few days."

Minato only nodded with a sad look before turning to the grey-haired boy he'd met the night he'd rescued him from the dark-spattered ocean. When he saw his face, he immediately knew who he was, even though his mind was still fazed enough for him to think that it might've been a dream. But he couldn't have mistaken him for anyone or anything else. "Thank you..." he said in gratitude, lowering his head his head in thought before looking up to him again, "... Yu Narukami... am I right?"

"That's right." Yu replied with a forced grin, hoping that Minato might smile with him. He could, however, only manage a much weaker smile than Yu had hoped, and Minato just stared at everyone before lowering his head down to the mattress. He sat up a laid his back against his upright pillows, bringing his knees up and folding his arms as he closed his eyes in what looked like melancholy. "This all must've come as a shock to you guys..." he muttered, putting his statement more in a milder sense, "... but I guess you all have a lot of questions on your mind. I have a lot to answer for anyway..."

No one understood what Minato was saying; at this point, they all knew that there was something on his mind that he couldn't help but feel guilty about. Even Naoto and Akihiko didn't know what to make of it. "We do have quite a few questions for you, Minato. Though, we can always do it later if you're still not feeling well." Naoto advised, taking a seat nearer to his bed just in case. Minato just shook his head and sighed with a wobbly exhale, "It's fine, don't worry... I've had enough of hiding it."

The way Minato said it made the four quite confused as to what he was trying to convey to them. It was quite baffling to them that he was willing to answer their questions whilst feeling completely guilty for whatever he had done. They could easily call it a confession, but to them, it seemed more than that. The way he kept looking away from them and the way he would just look out the window with an expression of what seemed like worthlessness; it was like he didn't want to be in that bed. Like he felt that he didn't deserve their hospitality. However, he sat there with his full attention towards the four and waited patiently for their questions.

Akihiko walked towards the door. "I'll just quickly get the others. You can carry on if you want to..." he said as he was about to enter the hallway. But before he could step out of the door, Minato stopped him with a halting gesture of his hand. "No, please..." he asked of Akihiko in a croaky tone, placing his hand back onto the duvet, "I don't want a crowd right now. It'll be easier just to talk to you guys." And with that, Akihiko closed the door again, turning away from it and heading back to Minato. He stood in front of the metal railing that supported the front of the bed and nodded to him. "That'll be best then. We'll pass on the information to the others later on." Akihiko replied, standing with his arms folded in wait for Naoto to start the questioning.

Suddenly, everything went silent. But during that time, the only noises that drowned out the crashing of the rain outside was the couple of stools and chairs that were rattling and dragging on the carpet. Aigis sat on the bed near Minato's feet, and Yu and Naoto sat on the chairs which they pulled in closer to the side of his bed. Akihiko remained at the metal railing, almost like the overseer of the investigation. When everyone was in their place, Naoto brought her detective notebook out and flicked through the pages full of crosses and strike-throughs until she reached the page she was looking for. A few lines of questions were filled in the lines, spaced out between one or two lines each. She looked to the one from the top and began.

"Are you absolutely sure you want to do this now?" Naoto asked once more.

"Positive." Minato replied somewhat briefly, shuffling in his seat as he sighed again.

"Okay, well..." she began, shrugging her shoulders when she couldn't find another way to phrase the question that she had at the top of the page. Naoto felt that this particular question was one that she had to prioritise above all other questions; in everyone else's mind, they too would've wanted to put it first. "You probably already know what our first question will be..." she said as she put her notebook down on her lap, "... But... We know that you went missing at midnight on July 30th. Akihiko and I went to your private ward in the hospital and found out a few things; the door was locked with no one but you inside it before, during and after your disappearance. The window was also shattered, most likely from the inside..." When Naoto explained all of this, Minato's look never changed. It was as if all of these things she mentioned weren't anything new to him, like it was all too familiar to him. She noticed that expression, but despite that, she continued. "We've had our own theories about this, so... how exactly did you go missing?"

Minato had expected as much of a question. However, from the troubled look on his face, it was clear that he had the answer in his head already; he wasn't proud of it, nor did he show any gladness towards the fact that he was sitting in his bed, alive, to speak about it. He was calm though, and during the time he took to recollect his thoughts, he quelled himself of any second thoughts that he might've had and unfolded his arms, holding his hands as he placed them on his lap. "Hmm... Well, you're wrong about one thing..." Minato replied, looking away once again and closing his eyes as he exhaled with defeat, "... I didn't go missing."

It took a long while for everyone to register what he had just said. At first, they all thought that they misheard him, but his voice was as clear as day. Their looks showed Minato that of surprise and shock, and just for a moment, they were all at a loss for words. "What? You _didn't_ go missing?" Yu asked as his body reeled slightly. Minato looked to him and slowly shook his head with downcast eyes. "Not in the way you would've thought me to be..." he quietly explained.

* * *

><p><em>0730 – Dark Hour – Tatsumi Memorial Hospital_

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>Gah! Argh!" Minato yelled out in suffering, waking from his deathbed with excruciating pains surging through his once-dead body. His bloodshot eyes widened with shock as he tried to search his surroundings; they stung from the air that was sapping away at their moisture, almost like two weights were pressing into the front of his head.<strong>_

_**He was gagging for air, inhaling huge intakes of breath with a loosened windpipe. His lungs ached as he took in oxygen like a dry sponge, causing him to cough with violent and painful exhales. The fit of coughs never seemed to end, and Minato could taste the iron in his blood when the soreness began to burn in the back of his throat.**_

_**Minato could understand what was happening to him, but it was only after ending his coughing fit that he remembered that he was human again. He had endured so much suffering as just a floating soul before, but he had forgotten how a person of flesh, blood and bones could suffer. Everything inside of his body had been made redundant for two years and every organ that suddenly sprung to life in him felt somewhat awkward and abnormal; even the once-stagnant heart in his chest felt like it was squirming as it thumped to life.**_

_**As Minato sat back up to find his breathing pace, he looked to his surroundings. "Where... am I?" he asked himself with a croaked tone, somehow struggling to use his speech after having not used it for two years. He immediately noticed the crystal white walls and floors that made up a sterile environment, and the unmistakable aroma of antiseptic filled his long-unused nostrils with a strong smell; he was surprised at himself for remembering such a normal human function.**_

_**His eyes began to calibrate themselves in the darkness and immediately noticed that he was in a hospital ward; one that was completely closed off to other wards. "A hospital?" Minato asked himself, looking around himself to make sure, "I've been in here for two years?" The question was asked only out of natural reaction, but after asking himself, he then began to wonder. He would've expected a coffin which he wouldn't have been able to get out of, but fortunately, he wasn't in one. Though, the question did stand out to Minato.**_

* * *

><p><em>0810 – Early Morning – Tatsumi Hall_

* * *

><p>"Wait a second. You were in the hospital for that entire time?" Naoto asked him with astonishment, "How could you have known that?" Minato could only shrug his shoulders but looked towards Naoto with an expression that suggested that he couldn't have been wrong. There was a pause when he collected his thoughts, and before long, Minato spoke again. "That's just what I thought at the time; I didn't know whether I was in the hospital for two years or not..." Minato replied, lowering his eyes again to think back on the event before lifting them up to Naoto, "... but where else could I have been before I woke up? It wouldn't have made a lot of sense if my body went anywhere else if I was still in a hospital bed after two years, right?"<p>

Minato had a point. It would've made complete sense for a body to have been transported to the hospital after an emergency call was made beforehand, but any transportations away from the hospital afterwards would've been meaningless. However, this didn't get them anywhere with answering the question, until Akihiko suddenly spoke. "Well, it is true. You hadn't moved from that bed since then..." he confirmed, only to bring about more news on this recent discovery for the investigation, "... and now that you mention it... I don't even know why..."

Suddenly, all eyes were on Akihiko. A tidal wave of surprised expressions came towards him like he had said something to cause it; they were all thinking the same thing, even Minato. "Huh? What do you mean?" Yu asked, just as confused as everyone else was. It didn't take long until Akihiko recollected his thoughts, and after looking to Yu, he gave his reply. "Well I'm only saying that because Mitsuru was the one looking into it. She told me and the others that we didn't need to worry about it. We just assumed that she was arranging a funeral or something..." he explained, leading himself to express his reason for mentioning this new intel, "I brought this up because something about it didn't seem right. I mean, after the first year, I was starting to ask why Mitsuru was taking so long. And why did the hospital want to keep Minato's corpse for longer than they needed to? No hospital would do that, especially Tatsumi Memorial."

And in that short space of time, another question had been added to the list, to which no one knew the answer to. However, Naoto did have one person in mind who might know of this; when she looked over to Akihiko, there was something in his eye when he looked to her that suggested that he was thinking the same thing. "Are you saying Mitsuru-senpai might know something about this?" she asked, already attracting the surprise of Yu and Aigis. Akihiko was ready to nod his head, but instead turned his attention to his leader and humanoid when he saw their expressions in the corner of his eye.

"Relax, you two. We're not making Mitsuru a suspect," he reassured them, watching as their concern faded in their looks of relief, "but she's probably the one who knows more about this than any of us do. We'll have to ask her after this." Akihiko may have said it calmly, but everyone could see the suspicious look on his face. If what he said was right, then Mitsuru must've been hiding something. It was just as Akihiko said though; she wasn't a suspect. Yu and Naoto had to fight her Shadow after all, so whatever Mitsuru might've been hiding, it surely wasn't concealed out of malevolence.

A pause filled the room, and the atmosphere got even heavier. But before the silence could take over the room, Naoto cleared her throat and gestured to Minato. "A-Anyway... continue." she asked of him. He nodded slowly. "... Right," he replied in usual monotone, "After I got out of the bed, I found an Evoker on the side. I assumed it was mine."

* * *

><p><em>0730 – Dark Hour – Tatsumi Memorial Hospital_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Minato threw off the bed covers and immediately reached for what looked like a gun on his bedside table. Taking a hold of the metal, the familiar cold sensation he felt when touching it tingled the nerves in his palm. And as he sat up, he examined the gun, recognising it as none other than an Evoker. The etchings harkened him back to two years ago, reading the abbreviation, 'S.E.E.S', when his eyes scanned over them. His eyes widened when he saw that name. "Huh?!" he gasped, seeing the many faces of his friends in his mind. But then, just as he snapped out of his flashbacks, the Evoker in his hand suddenly made him realise something. "Huh...? What was this doing here?"<strong>_

_**There was no answer for it; Minato would've known as much that anyone who might've seen this Evoker next to him would've taken it away, let alone notice it to do so. But just seeing it sitting their casually didn't seem right to Minato. Just from seeing the Evoker alone brought about a maelstrom of questions in his head. Why was it here? Who brought it here? Why didn't anyone take it from here? Did anyone see it? Of course, he had only just come back to the living, and answers were a far-fetched thing.**_

_**He then looked down at his body and noticed that he was wearing the clothes he died in. He recognised the emblem of the Gekkoukan High School that was stitched into the left side of his jacket, and was immediately reminded of his junior year as a student there.**_

_**Before he could dwell on the memories, however, something drew his attention. He looked outside the large laminated window that stretched from wall to wall, and immediately noticed the familiar slimy-green colour that smothered the clouds with a haunting atmosphere. Minato slowly stood up to his feet, relearning his foot co-ordination as he made his way to the window. And the first thing he noticed when he approached the glass was the large crescent moon that arched its body to the left; it was abnormally huge enough for him to see the craters and lines on its surface, and something about it gave off a sense of doom.**_

_**He remembered all of this; the sickly-green scenery, the looming moon, and even a few coffins that were stood upright in puddles of what looked like blood. There was no other name for it. "The Dark Hour...?!" he whispered to himself in shock, "Oh no..." At first, the sight of the Dark Hour was confusing and worrying. But then, as he thought on it, an overwhelming sense of guilt filled his stomach, almost to the point where he felt physically sick. It was midnight, he knew that much. But it couldn't have just come back on its own. And as he cast his memory back to when he was just a floating soul in the cosmos, he couldn't think of any time in the past where anything like this happened.**_

_**Only one thought invaded his mind. The Dark Hour hadn't come back just by chance, there had to be a reason. And that reason was himself; the lost soul who broke free of his chains from the Great Seal. "No... what have I...?" he asked himself, cutting himself off when he knew that just asking wouldn't have helped the situation.**_

_**Minato quickly turned his body round and scanned his eyes rapidly around the ward in search for a way out. Since the Dark Hour was active, he was fortunate enough to make his escape from the hospital when everyone was sleeping in coffins. He knew this too well, and after finding a door at the other end of the room, he headed straight towards it. He turned the doorknob, but as he tried to push it open, the door wouldn't budge; he tried pulling, and that didn't work either. In a last ditch effort, Minato pushed and pulled with vigorous actions. Nothing.**_

"_**Locked..." he told himself, shifting the door once more just in case. But after a while, he gave up and turned his body back round. It was clear that he was trapped inside the room; the only way out was the door. However, Minato knew that he had to get out of the hospital in some way. He didn't know how much time he had left in the Dark Hour, and anyone who sees him alive would probably cause him to attract unwanted attention.**_

_**He thought for a moment and looked everywhere to find an alternate route. And when he turned his eyes back to the large window, an idea sprung to mind. At first, he thought he was crazy for thinking it, but after looking out of the window once more to see how high he was from the ground, there was no doubt in his mind that it would've been a safe drop. "Right..." he said to himself, resting a hand on the window to see how thick the glass was. He pressed against it to see if it was flexible and looked inside the window pane to see how strong it might be. After a while of examining the window, it was clear to him that the glass was just too strong to break through using conventional means. He looked to a chair that sat in the corner of the room, but he could only think that it wouldn't have been enough.**_

_**But then, he looked down to the Evoker that he still held in his hand. And just by casting his eyes on it, he could remember every battle he'd fought and every Persona he'd called out onto the battlefield. He could remember the feeling he had every time he brought it up to his head and pulled the trigger, but most of all, he could remember the amount of damage he'd done with just that device alone.**_

_**Minato wasn't sure at first, but he knew that there was no other way out, and he didn't want to leave too much evidence behind, especially when he didn't want the people he held so close to find out that he had put them in mortal danger again. He didn't want anyone to know, not even the people he'd created Social Links with and not even S.E.E.S, even though it broke his heart to think about it.**_

_**He sighed in silence and took a few steps back away from the window. "... Here we go..." he muttered under his breath, bringing the Evoker's barrel up to the side of his lobe. He lifted his eyes up to the window, as if treating it as a target, and he planted his feet into the floor with his back upright. He took a deep intake of breath and readied his trigger finger; just as this happened, a name came into his mind. "Orpheus!" he cried out, sending the mind bullet into his head with a crack of the gun.**_

_**The feeling of emptiness, yet filled with a tidal wave of power surged through Minato's body with a reminder of what it felt like. As he summoned Orpheus into the ward, he slowly remembered all other facets and Personas that he held in his mind; it was as if the power of the Wild Card was returning to him bit by bit, and by the time Orpheus had fully materialised, he could remember them all. Every Arcana was with him again, and even the one he knew best. The Fool.**_

_**Minato sheathed his Evoker and glared at the glass, feeling the rush of wind at his side as Orpheus charged towards the window. The Persona glided like it always did, and as it approached the glass, Orpheus grabbed its harp from behind it's back and swung it with a might which Minato had long forgotten. The harp crashed into the window, and the laminated glass immediately smashed upon impact, spreading its shards and fragments along the windowsill whilst most of it fell over the side.**_

_**Suddenly, the feeling of that power instantly left Minato's body, replacing it with exhaustion and somewhat of fatigue. "Gah..." he grunted, holding his head when a mild headache came about. However, as Orpheus sank back into his psyche, the pain went away.**_

_**Minato made his way to the hole he made in the wall and poked his head out to look at the landscape. He darted his head from left to right, hoping to find somewhere to go. He could go anywhere; anywhere but one place. The Iwatodai Dorm. He knew that he didn't want anyone he knew, even the ones he cherished so much, to see him. Not when he'd brought all of this on them once again. He wanted to hide. He wanted to find a way to end this quickly.**_

_**And with that, he leapt over the windowsill.**_

* * *

><p><em>0810 – Early Morning – Tatsumi Hall_

* * *

><p>Everyone looked at Minato with some kind of astonishment. The window smashing, the signs of possible Persona activity; everything was to Naoto's notes, and the thing that surprised them even more was that it was all caused by Minato himself. None of the culprits were involved whatsoever. After he had said his piece, one vital question had finally been answered. However, another question spawned in its wake. "So, you didn't know who put the Evoker there," Yu said to recap to the others, phrasing a question in his head as he spoke, "Do you have any idea of who might've put it there?"<p>

"I don't know," Minato explained in brief words, turning to Akihiko, "I assumed one of you guys left it there." Minato had expected it, but Akihiko shook his head almost immediately after he made his assumptions clear. The trainee detective just threw his arms up, gesturing to him that he didn't know. "Well you can count on it that it wasn't me; I was in Ayanagi for the whole time you were in the hospital," he explained, "Besides, no one in this building would've even tried to put it there. Even Junpei would know that it would just cause an uproar if any of the nurses saw it."

"Hmm... interesting." Naoto hummed to herself, writing something down in her notebook with a biro pen. Everyone in the room had heard her mumbling to herself, and they were all wondering why. "Um... Naoto-san?" Aigis called to her, somewhat croakily after having not talked for quite a while, "Is something on your mind?"

"I was just thinking..." Naoto replied, taking a pause to collect her thoughts together before going further with her explanation, "... it would probably confirm our theory about the culprits being there. I mean, no one had seen the Evoker, and Minato had picked it up the night he came back. Someone must've planted it there for him that night. And that's not all; it had to be someone who knew about Minato's return, how an Evoker worked, Personas, and maybe even the Dark Hour. Sound familiar?"

Everyone knew what she was talking about; there was no one else she could've mentioned. And at that moment, they all thought that one theory had finally been cracked. "I see," Yu entered the conversation, turning himself to Minato, "So we know already that your body didn't get taken; you let yourself out of the hospital and hid yourself away... if I'm fair in saying that of course..." Minato shrugged with a reassuring shake of his head. "No, you're right." he replied in his usual nonchalant tone.

"And we know that the culprits have the ability to jump from one place to another whenever it suits them, so at least one of them must've put the Evoker there for you." Yu explained further, reaching a conclusion which everyone was thinking. However, Minato had one point he needed to make. "Most likely. But it wouldn't make sense that they'd give me my Evoker and they'd steal other things from me, like my sword."

"Unless they intend to play a game," Akihiko said briefly in interruption. Minato could only look at him with a confused expression, somewhat finding it hard to find the truth in what he was trying to get at. "Look at it from our perspective," the trainee detective said to Minato after seeing the look on his face, "these guys were always hinting that they were the ones who took your body, they've been putting us inside the TV world ever since we've come into contact with them, and they've been busy trying to kill us so that we wouldn't have found out about your absence. They're the kind of criminals that like to play games; it's like they've been giving us puzzles to which they took joy in watching us solve."

Yu, Aigis and Naoto had heard it before, but they all nodded in agreement. And when they turned to Minato, he too was nodding; the look on his face also suggested that he would've said the same thing about those culprits. And that got everyone thinking. But before anyone could bring it up, Minato beat them to it. "These 'culprits'... are you talking about those hooded guys?" he asked them, getting nods from the four. He sighed, almost in disgust. "... Who even are they?"

Everyone could feel his frustration, but it did strike Akihiko, Naoto and Aigis as somewhat of a surprise to hear him say it as if he'd knew them. Naoto looked at him with a look of curiosity. "You've met them as well?" she asked, holding a pen firmly in her hand with the tip barely touching the pages in her notebook. Minato looked up to Naoto. "Yeah... I met one of them after I came out of the hospital," he explained, sighing again as he spoke, "... The Dark Hour was just about to end when I reached the Port Island Station..."

* * *

><p><em>0730 – Dark Hour – Port Island Station_

* * *

><p><em><strong>Minato had covered a large distance from the hospital to the station, and after all the running, he was experiencing another human flaw; having to take in air in huge breaths after running for so long. After finally arriving to the station, Minato found a wall and immediately approached it, sitting down and laying his back against it afterwards. He was completely out of oxygen; all he could do was let his lungs recover his breath, as painful as it was for him.<strong>_

"_**What am I doing...?" Minato asked himself, finding no solution to his predicament. But things were just about to get worse; after a long moment of sitting there in the dampness of the alleyway, the green skies, the pools of crimson blood, and the coffins that stood idly around him suddenly transitioned back into normality.**_

* * *

><p><em>0730 – Midnight_

* * *

><p><em><strong>The moon downsized to its usual shape, and the sky transformed back into its dark, black colour, radiating blue tints as the moon shone through its empty space. The coffins materialised away into nothing, only revealing the drunk and violent people that slept inside for that whole hour. And the blood pools lost their crimson colour, returning to its watery state. Everything was back to normal; that was except for Minato. Sine waking up, everything felt like Minato's life had to turned on its head, and with the problem that he had, nothing was going to feel normal. Not now, and probably never again.<strong>_

_**He heard the drunks from his right side and immediately noticed how loud one person's terrible singing was as it got closer and closer to him. Minato wasn't all too worried, however; the drunk could hardly notice him, especially in his state. All he could do was to just sit quietly and wait for that intoxicated person to just pass by. During that time, Minato just looked elsewhere, as if taking in the world he once knew from two years ago. He noticed that not a lot have changed, not the alleys behind the station anyway.**_

_**But then, something caught his eye. He looked to his left and found an overhead television that was turned on, just beside the giant clock that hung from the ceiling of one of the train shelters. He could recognise the news programme layout from anywhere, and knowing that he was two years behind the currant affairs in the world, he decided to watch it for a moment. Just as he was though, he saw something he didn't expect to see.**_

_**In the top left corner of the screen was an image of himself with his usual stoic appearance, and although he couldn't hear the news reporter from where he was sat, he could see the headlines forming from the bottom of the screen. It read: 'BREAKING NEWS: DECEASED GEKKOUKAN HIGH STUDENT, MINATO ARISATO, MISSING FROM TATSUMI MEMORIAL HOSPITAL'. Minato could only look in shock at what he was witnessing.**_

* * *

><p><em>0810 – Early Morning – Tatsumi Hall_

* * *

><p>"Are you sure that's what the headlines said?" Naoto suddenly interrupted, looking somewhat confused by what Minato was entailing. Minato nodded without hesitation. "Positive." he replied in his monotone voice. There was no other look on his face that suggested otherwise, and when everyone else tried to figure out why Naoto was in a wonder, the reason why came to their heads. Before any of them could mention it though, Naoto beat them to it. "How would that work then?" she asked again, rhetorically this time, "The news couldn't have found out about your disappearance that quickly. To every human who cannot experience the Dark Hour, you would've only been missing for about a few seconds at best."<p>

"News does travel fast, but never that fast." Akihiko added, hardly stressing enough how much he agreed with the detective prince. No one, not even Minato himself, had any answer to that question. That was until Yu had a thought spring into his mind. "Though... it would make sense if someone had told the news before Minato would've woken up," he expressed the theory, already getting weird looks from Naoto and Akihiko, "It would make sense. The Evoker, which we know was put on Minato's bedside table by one of the culprits, is proof enough they already knew that he was going to come back. The culprits like to play games... so notifying the news would've been the perfect trick to make Minato's travelling around Iwatodai more difficult."

After Yu had explained, everyone could see where he was getting at, and almost immediately, it was a theory that they agreed with. No one could argue against it; they couldn't think of anything else to counter it. And after discussing this, it got Minato thinking. "I wonder what it's all for..." he said in a mumble, "... they did mention something about a 'grand plan'..." As soon as he said it, everyone's eyes shot up to him with surprise; when he looked to each of them and saw their expressions, he knew what he had said to cause their shock. "What? They told you about that as well?" he asked, somewhat expecting the answer.

"Yes... we've been wondering about that ever since they told us..." Aigis replied, looking down in thought in an attempt to scrape some answers from her memory bank. However, she only had as much knowledge as everyone else did. Everyone then began doing it, but to no avail. There a pause of silence that signified the end of the discussion, and Naoto made a gesture to Minato.

"It seems we're nowhere closer to finding out the truth of their plan," she said with her deducing tone, "but we should get back to the story. Minato, if you will..."

"Hm..." Minato hummed in reply, taking in air when the second half of the story came to mind, "... The drunk guy grabbed and pulled me up..."

* * *

><p><em>0730 – Midnight – Port Island Station_

* * *

><p><em><strong>The drunk yanked Minato up violently by the collar and pulled him in closer with a firm hand. His body shifted weight from one side to the other, and he didn't seem like he could control it. His breath stank of alcohol, and whenever he wanted to say something, it would sometimes come out as just sounds without any diction. But eventually, the drunk composed himself slightly and began to speak some sense. "I recognise-sh that uniform any... where..." he spoke with difficulty, breathing his alcoholic aroma onto Minato's face, "... Gekkou- Urgh... Gekkoukan ssschum...!" Minato could remember the last time he visited this place and could remember every person and punk he'd confronted with back then, but none of them could compare to this guy who was now raising his empty sake bottle threateningly above Minato's head.<strong>_

_**Reacting to this, Minato managed to rip the drunk's hand away from his collar and jumped away, just in time when he brought the bottle down in a violent vertical swing. After a stagger and a long while of regaining his balance, the drunk growled with a low and husky rumble and power-walked towards Minato again for another attack with the bottle. It was fortunate that the thug was intoxicated; the slowness and sluggishness of his movements made it much easier for Minato to read, and when the drunk was coming in for another attack, he knew what to expect.**_

_**When the thug was just a small distance in front of Minato, he slowly and clumsily thrusted the bottle forward as if to pierce it into him, even though the bottom of the bottle wouldn't have done any damage since it was so round. Minato just side-stepped away from the pointless assault and quickly grabbed the bottle. Then without any effort, he snatched it away from the drunk, used the other hand to grab the neck of the bottle and rapidly raised it up into the air as the drunk did. Eventually, the bottle came crashing down onto the thug's head, smashing the glass into a myriad of fragments.**_

_**Suddenly, everything went still; Minato just stared at his attacker, who was just standing there as still as a statue. But just when everything became silent, the drunk keeled over and slumped to the ground, falling unconscious with only his breathing as the only sign of life. All of this had gone so quickly, and it only took a moment for Minato to realise what he had done. He didn't seem to shocked, however; there was nothing else he could've done to prevent it.**_

"_**Right..." Minato said to himself as he took a hold of the fallen thug's jacket. As he recovered his breath, he dragged the drunk towards a secluded part of the alleyway, in between two large bins that he assumed would be a good hiding space. And when he got there, he sat the thug up in a sitting position and leaned his head against the scummy brick wall behind him.**_

_**All Minato could do was just stare at the thug's unconscious body. He could only think on how much the drunk wouldn't have worried a lot about his life, taking in alcohol to forget everything around him and never have a care in the world. Minato couldn't think about his life like that; not anymore. He looked around himself to see if anyone had seen what he had done, but fortunately, it was the quietest spot in the alleyway. However, he needed to find something he could use as a disguise; the news would've probably made the whole of Iwatodai set on spotting him, and he couldn't risk that.**_

_**But then, just as he was looking around, something in the corner of his eye appeared before him.**_

_**He darted his head towards a narrow pathway and saw a dark figure that came out of, what looked like a TV. There were no doors or windows he could've climbed out of, and he couldn't have just walked through the wall, but Minato was certain that he was seeing a television there. As the figure stepped out of the screen, Minato could see only one feature; the hood. Everything else was in the shadows, but that hood, along with a slender body and an outline of a jacket was the only things he could see.**_

_**The hooded figure stopped as he came out of the TV, which still shocked Minato slightly when he saw it, and he turned his head towards him. Minato knew that the figure had noticed him from the way he was turning his body to face him, and in that moment, Minato didn't have a clue of what to do; he didn't know if he was another drunk or just someone looking for a fight. The hooded person was calm though and he didn't make that drunk swagger that the last one did. However, he had a stance of authority and all he did was just stand there, still as a rock and completely silent.**_

_**Minato didn't say anything, only copying what the figure was doing, and just then, it was like a stand-off. But after a short while, the boy began to move; he brought a hand into his jacket pocket and pulled out something Minato knew straight away. In his hand was Minato's music player, and even from afar, Minato could see that it was damaged and dented in some places. Again, he didn't have any words for the boy and just stood his ground.**_

_**Another pause left silence between the two, but eventually the hooded figure moved again, and this time, he threw the music player towards Minato in an under-arm through, almost in a derogatory way. They were both a great distance from one another, but the figure had managed to throw the music player from one end of the alley to the other where Minato was standing, landing it right at his feet. Minato looked down at his trustworthy music player that was now visibly battered and broken in places, and as he bent down to pick it up, he looked back to the hooded boy. But as he did, there was no one there, as if he had disappeared out of thin air.**_

_**At that moment, Minato didn't want to know, but he couldn't help but feel that the figure had something to do with him. He found that feeling unnecessary, but he couldn't shake it off no matter how much he tried. He ignored the situation and looked down at the music player in his hand; he didn't notice them before, but the hooded figure had also paired it with his headphones. At first, he didn't know why the boy had given this to him, even though he wouldn't have known him, but then he also thought of how and why he had just come out of a TV screen. That part only made him think that he was crazy and left it at that, but knowing that this person had mysteriously given him back his music player, he checked it just in case.**_

_**He put the headphones over his ears and plugged them into the socket of the music player, even though it proved somewhat difficult due to the denting. But as soon as he managed to get sound in both ears, he pressed the play button. And at that moment, he was met with shock. In his ears, he could hear himself conversing with another person, and it was words he found strikingly familiar.**_

"_**This is no ordinary dream. We both dreamt this," said his own voice, "... the bond that we shared so greatly with each other is still there. Our bond forged this dream –"**_

_**Remembering those words with regret, Minato quickly pressed the stop button on the music player so that he wouldn't have to hear any more of it, and immediately looked forwards at nothing with shocked and saddened expression. Those were the words from his dream. Yukari's dream. Their dream. As he cast his mind back to that sleep in the Seal, he couldn't help but feel devastated at what he had just heard. And at that same time, he had a thought about why the figure had given this to him. His words to Yukari must've been a clue of some sick kind, and he could only think that he has some involvement, not just with himself, but with Yukari and the rest of S.E.E.S.**_

_**It was then that he was given another reason to keep his friends safe, even though the only clue didn't give him much of one. However, he had to investigate, and to do that, he needed to blend in with the rest of the world without anyone knowing of his existence.**_

_**He quickly put the music player in his pocket and turned his attention back to the thug that he had knocked out. He then looked at the navy jacket that he was wearing and immediately noticed how surprisingly clean it was even though it was owned by a scruffy person. Minato could only sigh at what he was going to do next, but he knew he had to do it for the sake of keeping his identity a secret. So without any more hesitation, he grabbed the thug's jacket and removed it as quickly as he could from his body; he was fortunate for the jacket's correct size and the fact that it had a hood. And after taking it completely off the drunk, Minato removed his uniform jacket and slipped on the navy coat, buttoning it up to his chest and throwing the hood over his head as he did.**_

_**After he tidied himself up, he took his Gekkoukan jacket and walked over to a fire pit that sat inside a dented metal barrel. As he hovered the jacket over the bonfire, he looked at it once more before chucking it in. The fabric and the silk burned and curled in the flames, and in almost no time at all, it all turned to ashes, dying down the fire with it until it completely burnout out. "I'm sorry... everyone..." he said as he lifted his head, apologising to all those who will never hear it.**_

_**And with that, there was only one thing left to do. Minato pulled the music player out of his pocket and bent back down to the drunk. There was no fire left to burn it, and he knew it's waterproof feature well, so throwing it in a nearby puddle wasn't going to help his situation either. Only one other option was left; he opened the thug's pocket in his jeans and placed the music player in it, hoping that no one will ever find it.**_

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><p><em>0810 – Early Morning – Tatsumi Hall_

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><p>"So it was <em>you<em>who put your music player on that guy?"Akihiko asked, somewhat in disbelief after having jailed one person who might've known about one of the culprits. Everyone in the room was thinking the same thing; this revelation was just too radical to consider, so they thought. "Yes... that's right..." Minato replied, looking down with closed eyes as he answered.

"I see," Naoto said with a look of deep thought, "So you planted the music player on that body so that you wouldn't want anyone to find it, correct?" she asked as a recap.

"Hm." Minato replied with a nod of his head.

"And you encountered the others that resided at the back of the station?"

"Right."

"So, I'm assuming you know a girl called Marie?"

Minato reacted suddenly to the name. He may not have shown it much in his expression, but from the way he shot his eyes up to Naoto, they all knew that he knew her. Yu and Aigis had an idea of where Naoto was going with this and Akihiko already seemed to know. "Marie... I know that name..." Minato replied, "... You all know her? Is she okay?" Upon being asked, everyone nodded in sync. The looks on their faces suggested that they had known her for quite some time, even though Akihiko and Aigis were the only two who had a lesser expression. "She's downstairs with the others. She came here only a few days ago." Aigis replied, watching as a relieved look came onto Minato's face.

He cocked his head in thought. "... We'd see each other behind the Port Island Station. I stopped her from getting harassed one time by the locals, and we did cause people a bit of trouble." And it was then that everyone's disbeliefs were put to rest; for the whole time they had thought that it was one of the culprits who had made the back of Port Island Station their quarters. But even though there were parts of them that still didn't want to think of it, everything Minato had said fitted.

After all the clues came together and when the true identity of the person behind the train station was revealed, it was all clear. Akihiko was probably the most believing person in the room at that moment. "Well, we can't argue with that..." he explained, turning everyone's heads towards him, "... Marie said earlier on that she recognised Minato, even though she didn't know his name."

"Right. I never told her..." Minato added, shaking his head as he spoke. Everyone could understand why he didn't tell her though; he had already explicitly mentioned one reason why. "Because of the news?" Yu asked. Minato nodded in reply. "Yes..." he said, more quietly than usual, "... she told me that she knew you... I couldn't risk telling her about me in case she would tell you..." At this point, everyone was terribly confused; as soon as Minato had said it, they were all wondering why telling them and everyone else about his existence would've been bad for him, and the look on his face stayed neutral. There was no other expression that could've shown that he had made a mistake.

"Tell us?" Akihiko asked, posing the question that was on everyone's lips, "What...? What are you saying?!" Minato could see that Akihiko was genuinely concerned about what he might have construed, and as soon as he asked a question of his own, it was as if it had a chain reaction on everyone else. Thoughts of what Akihiko meant followed, and it worried Minato. "I..." he muttered before sighing, turning his head away from the group as if he were ashamed. And then, he just went silent.

"Are you saying...?" Aigis then spoke up, upset and hugely saddened by what she was thinking, "... Are you saying... that you didn't want us to know...? About you being alive...?" At this moment, Aigis shot up from her seat and rushed to Minato's side, leaning in towards him as she demanded for answers. Her eyes were filled with nothing but melancholy, and she looked as if she could cry. Minato turned his head slowly back towards the group with downcast eyes and sadness. There was a long pause before he spoke up again. "Is that true, Minato?" Yu then asked, almost cutting Minato off from what he was going to say. Another pause filled the air with tension before Minato opened his mouth, hesitating in his speech. He nodded his head slowly, and the inevitable words followed.

"... Yes..." he said reluctantly, "... I didn't want anyone to know..."

"But why though?!" Akihiko asked in a shout, almost angered by what Minato was saying. Minato could tell from his expression that he was somewhat furious, but there was more of despair and upset in his eyes. And when he turned back round to Aigis, her sadness still remained, looking at him with gloomy eyes as she waited for an answer to Akihiko's question. "Why were you trying to avoid us? Why didn't you just come back?" he asked again, almost demanding for an answer. Minato had opened his mouth, but no words came out. He only sealed his lips once more and lowered his head in a shameful manner, turning his head slightly away from the former boxing captain with a sad sigh. "Minato, answer me!" Akihiko ordered him with a firm tone, trying to get a look of his face.

But then, Minato's head shot up. "Because what would you have thought of me?" he replied with a question, returning the same scolding voice Akihiko adopted. The trainee detective could only recoil his body, and everyone else did the same with only slight flinches. Just then, everything went silent, and it retained a long duration of discomfort before Yu spoke up again. "... What do you mean?" he asked calmly, turning Minato's attention towards him. As soon as he saw Yu's controlled, neutral expression, he calmed down slowly and looked back down to his bedsheets once more.

Everyone could tell by the look on Minato's face that this was the thing that troubled him the most; his eyes closed in, what looked like shame, his teeth was slightly gritting, and he somewhat winced at whatever thoughts were going on in his head. A hand landed on the bed covers, and Minato scrunched up his fist as he squeezed the cloth in his hand. The grip then became loose, and Minato lifted his head up, but only by a mere inch.

"I thought you might've figured it out... just by me being here..." Minato spoke, almost in a mumble. At this point, everyone suddenly became nervous; it was as if they had a thought somewhere in their minds which they wanted to completely wipe clean. But something was nagging at them, and they had a slight suspicion that it was going to be bad news. Minato continued. "... I left the Seal... and with that, I left the only place where I could stop Death from coming again... and now that I'm here, I wanted to make things right again... just by myself."

Everyone could see where he was going with it, and as they dwelled on the thought, they could only look perplexed, even completely crumbled from the inside when the thought of another apocalypse entered their minds before Minato could even speak anything about it. Yu cut him off immediately and leaned in his seat. "Wait... are you saying that...?" he asked, deliberately leaving the obvious details out.

Minato could see and hear it in Yu's eyes and tone of voice that he knew about Nyx, which only led him to think that the members of S.E.E.S had told him about the events that determined his fate as the Great Seal. However, even though Yu and everyone else was expecting some kind of answer, nothing came to Minato's mind. It wasn't because he didn't want to say anything, but rather that he didn't have anything to say at all. "I... I don't know..." Minato replied with hesitation, turning everyone's looks into worry and despair, "... All I know is that nothing is guarding that Seal anymore..."

Uncertainty and looks that expressed a severe lack of faith filled the room, and at that moment, everything went silent again. No one had any idea of what to say. But that was until Minato took a deep breath; they could all hear the air passing through his teeth as he sucked in oxygen, and there was a pause before he said anything. Eventually though, after a slight relaxation in tension, he began to breathe his words.

"What would you have thought of me if I came back...?" Minato asked again, repeating what he had said before. At that moment, everyone's heads shot up to him with questioning looks, almost as if they all had the same sympathising answer in their heads. Before anyone could open their mouths though, Akihiko was the first to speak his mind. "What are you talking about?" he answered with a sad, yet honest look, "I mean, sure, we would've been really shocked, but... at least we would've known that you were alive! You should've come back... we're your friends..."

"I did want to come back..." Minato then explained, lifting his eyes up to Akihiko, "... I wanted that... but how could I at the time? I even thought you were all furious with me when you chased me around Iwatodai."

Suddenly, everyone's bodies recoiled at what he just said. More shocked expressions sprung on their faces, as if they had realised something all at once; they could only stare at Minato whilst they pieced the information together in their minds. And it was at that moment that they were witnessing another surprising revelation. "Hm?" Minato hummed in question to the shocked few before he received any kind of answer.

"No way... that was you at the Naganaki Shrine?!" Yu asked, almost in a shout. Minato could tell from everyone else's silence that they were all thinking the same thing as Yu was, and it suddenly made sense to him why they had all treated him so differently in the TV world when they were fighting against Yukari's Shadow. "You didn't think it was?" he asked, despite expecting the answer that came to his head.

"But... we thought it was one of the culprits!" Aigis answered him, suddenly making her mind clear on something Naoto had mentioned days ago after chasing the hooded figure. However, Naoto beat her to it. "So that explains it..." she muttered under her breath before explaining the deductions to the group, "... The lack of teleportation, the silent treatment, the resistance to cause any physical conflict... it all adds up. How did we not realise that it wasn't any of the culprits to begin with?" They all knew that something was up when they saw the lack of character in the hooded figure on that day, but none of them would've guessed that it was Minato all along. But as silence started to creep into the room again, Minato spoke up again.

"I came there after I was separated from Marie... I went to the old Iwatodai Dorm for safety that night..." he explained, "I was trying to find her the next day because I didn't know what happened to her. That was when I came across the Naganaki Shrine. I took a moment to look at all the tributes that were laid out for me... and that was when you saw me."

"You went back to the abandoned dorm and escaped into the TV world. Is that right?" Yu summed up the conclusion of the chase in a few words, asking for Minato's approval. He cocked his head slightly at the name. "Is that what it's called? But yeah, you're right." he replied.

"Hmm..." Yu hummed as he lowered his head slightly in thought. He then brought his mind to the subject of Minato taking refuge in the old dorm and realised that he had something taken from his old room when he investigated it. He knew that he had to show it sooner or later and finally brought himself to pull Minato's mobile phone out of his pocket, seeing everyone cast their eyes on it for the first time during the investigation. "Going back to what you said about the old dorm you and others stayed in, we went to your room to investigate. This was the day after the chase by the way, and this was when we thought one of the culprits were occupying it since your escape route was through the TV that was still inside." he explained in brief words before handing Minato his cell phone over to him, "I found this in there."

As Minato took his own mobile phone from Yu's hand, he examined it to make sure that it was genuinely his possession. He could remember the make, model and even the wallpaper background that he had upon flipping it open. "My phone..." he confirmed, suddenly causing some confusion with the rest of the group. They looked at Yu, somewhat suspiciously, and it only took a few seconds for someone to finally question him about it. Naoto was the one to speak up. "Senpai, you didn't tell us that you found it...?" she asked with her head slightly lowered which made her gaze a little more menacing. However, Yu could see that she was only curious; the expression he saw was something he had seen many times before. It was her detective face after all.

Yu didn't feel any kind of threat towards the thought of speaking his mind, but he did feel worried about how the others might react. However, he felt it best that he had to tell them. "No, I didn't..." he said, forward in tone, "... I didn't want to show it to you guys because... well, it gave me a thought. And if I told any of you guys at the time, you all wouldn't have exactly agreed..." After briefly outlining what he had on his mind, Yu was waiting in silence for someone else to speak. But after no words came out, and after a few gestures for him to continue, he did so. "... This phone was the one that called me on the night when Junpei and Koromaru entered the TV, and on the other end of the line was the culprit; the one with the black jacket. I could recognise his tone anywhere... I knew it was that phone because I checked the list of outgoing calls and my number appeared..." he explained, hesitating slightly when he came to the crux of the issue, "... Now you won't like this part... when I found that phone in Minato's old dorm room... I began to think that Minato was one of the culprits."

For the umpteenth time that morning, Akihiko and Aigis recoiled in shock at what Yu had said; he looked over to Minato, only to find that he was surprisingly passive about the situation. Yu could only think that Minato couldn't have blamed him. But when he turned his attention back to the trainee detective and the humanoid, he kept his composure as the worrying stares darted towards him.

"What?!" Aigis asked in outburst, looking more surprised than Akihiko, who only looked at Yu as if he were crazy to think that. At first, he was at a loss for words, but after collecting his phrases and words together, he finally arrived at what he wanted to say. "Huh? What in the world made you think of that?" Yu had seen those questions coming a mile off, but he could only shrug, indicating to them that he couldn't deny what he had thought before. At any moment, Yu thought that Akihiko was going to spout angry comments, but after a long look at one another, he couldn't find any fury; just questioning eyes that tried to seek for an answer.

There was a pause before Naoto spoke up again, turning towards Akihiko to defend Yu's side. "This is alarming, but Yu isn't in the wrong. From the way I see it, there were many things that were unclear at the time that would've led him to think of Minato as a suspect," she spoke with confidence; everyone in the room knew that Naoto had a great intellect, including Minato despite only meeting her very briefly. The surprised looks from Akihiko and Aigis faded into neutral, and Naoto explained her thoughts. "We all know that the culprits had taken Minato's belongings – that in itself is one reason since we know that those objects became the game pieces; they stole and returned and vice-versa, but the main point was that it was another of Minato's belongings – something that would've aroused suspicion, especially when the culprit knew how to operate his possessions. To wield his blade and Evoker would've been trivial mainly because any Persona-user would be able to use them, but to use something as personal as a mobile phone, that's a different story."

It was as if the words had been taken from Yu's mouth; he could only think that Naoto couldn't have explained it better and neither could he. After listening to her say, Akihiko sighed in acceptance and nodded in understanding. "That is true..." he said, looking to Yu with apologetic eyes, "... Sorry." Yu gestured a friendly hand. "Don't worry about it. At least I was proven wrong though." Yu replied in reassurance, forcing a smile in response. And with that, the discussion was over, leaving another pause between the group; they all looked to one another, hoping that one of them would speak.

Before long though, Naoto was running her pen down her list of notes, and she immediately found only one more question left to ask; everything else on her notepad was either already discussed or already asked. But there was that one lone question left, and the whole truth behind Minato's story would be revealed. Without any time wasted, she lifted her head up and prepared the question in her head.

"There's just one more thing I want to ask you, Minato," she began, bringing Minato back into the group discussion, "When Akihiko went to the Port Island Station to see the locals, one of them said that you always kept an eye on a TV, especially when it was late at night, while you were there. Does that mean that you were aware of the Midnight Channel?" Upon hearing the question, Minato nodded; everyone was quite surprised that he knew the proper name for it, but as they tried to think of why he would know it, Minato was already about to enlighten them.

"The Midnight Channel... I remember Marie calling it that..." he explained, "... But yeah, I did know about it. I would see shady figures on it every night, but most of them were of people I didn't know. Not until I went into the TV to find out."

"So, you saw the same silhouettes we did." Aigis said in addition, simplifying what Minato had said.

"What did you do after watching it then?" Naoto then asked, "Surely you would've wanted to act, being so fixated to the TV..."

"I did. I would enter the TV with Marie to see who or what was causing the broadcasts..." Minato explained, looking towards Akihiko and Aigis as he spoke, "I saw your Shadows, and I realised who the people on the TV were..." He didn't feel it necessary to say who those people were; he could see it in their eyes that they already knew those people. They were their own deceased relatives after all. No one spoke, but Minato continued regardless. "I fought the Shadows, but from what Marie told me, only those who spawned the Shadow are able to tame it. But I've only ever seen the Shadows, I never saw their hosts because..."

"... You didn't want them to see you." Yu said in interruption, finishing the sentence before Minato could. The blue-haired boy nodded to him in agreement. "Yes... and it always came to a situation where I couldn't fight them anymore because you guys would've come soon after."

And it was then that everyone saw the pattern that was then brought to light. They all looked to one another, as if trying to confirm for themselves that what they were thinking was right. Akihiko darted his head towards Minato. "So... you would've already been there before any of us were?" he asked with a tone of surprise. Minato only nodded his head in response, and it only left everyone in wonder about how Minato had managed to keep himself out of their sight while doing all of these things behind the scenes. But when there was surprise, there was sadness, mostly among Akihiko and Aigis; they could both agree that Minato should've just come back to them rather than hide away for the sake of his identity.

The silence, with only the sound of rain tapping against the glass windows, indicated the end of the questioning. No one knew what to say; everyone looked gloomy, but Minato had an expression that trumped all others. When everyone else looked to one another for any kind of conversation, his head sunk to the floor with his eyes closed and his hands holding his elbows. A long while later, the atmosphere remained the same; morbid, dark and without any positive sign.

Akihiko sighed to break the silence. "Minato, I..." he said, suddenly cutting himself off before he could say anything. Even so, Minato remained still in his position; he didn't even flinch at Akihiko's sudden call, which only led them all to think that he was still dwelling on his shame. The trainee detective looked to the others and gave a small flick of his head to indicate their leave. Receiving his message, Yu, Aigis and Naoto rose from their seats and walked with him towards the door. Before they went into the hallway though, they stopped for a moment.

"Thank you, Minato..." Naoto said in gratitude as well as despair. But again, Minato never moved.

"... We'll be downstairs." Yu said afterwards. But still no movement.

Everything became silent for a moment once more before Aigis spoke up. "Are you sure you don't want to come with us?" she asked, upset by Minato's expression; however, it still didn't get through to him, "Erm... we'll see you later then..."

Despite their attempts to get Minato to react to any of what they were saying, they knew that he wasn't going to move anytime soon. However, he opened his mouth. "Sorry... I just... want to be alone right now." he muttered quietly before returning to his usual silence. The saddened look on his face was like a plague; everyone couldn't help but feel the same way, especially after what Minato had told them. It was true that he should've returned to the group despite all that had happened this last week, but they could understand where he was coming from. They knew he meant well, but there wasn't anything they could do to tell him that. All they could do was to leave him alone for a moment. They stayed in their spots for a few moments to see if he would change his look. But after a long while of waiting for it, everyone couldn't see it happening and proceeded to the hallway.

As Akihiko opened the door, a couple of figures suddenly appeared from in front of him. The first was Junpei, who seemed to be the one to accompany the doctor from yesterday up to Minato's room. "Oh, Akihiko." the doctor greeted, "I'm just here to check up on Minato and Yukari. Is Minato in the room?"

"Ah, yeah..." Akihiko replied as he side-stepped out of the doctor's way, trying to cover up the gloomy expression, "... Though, he doesn't feel like talking at the moment... We'll leave you to it though."

"That should be fine. I'll come downstairs after I've examined both of them, and if necessary, I'll give you all a progress report." the doctor explained in his usual tone of professionalism. And with that, the doctor entered the room as everyone else exited to join Junpei. Akihiko closed the door behind them and walked with the others down the hallway.

From the lack of conversation, Junpei could tell that something was up. As he bent over forwards slightly to look at their faces, he could see their worried and saddened demeanours; it only made him nervous to see them this way after coming out of Minato's room and he made no hesitation to get down to the bottom of it. "Guys, what's with all the faces...?" he asked, suddenly grabbing their attention upon his call. Some looked as if they had just snapped out of it, and others just remained the same as they turned their head to him. And when they saw him, they could see the distress and uneasiness in his eyes. For a moment, no one spoke. Before Junpei could ask again though, Yu broke the silence. "We'll go downstairs first... There's a lot we need to talk about." he replied, only making Junpei more anxious about what was going on behind Minato's door.

Akihiko, Yu, Aigis and Naoto were all awake at that moment; from all the surprise and shock they had to endure, they didn't need any sleep anymore. If anything, what they had heard from Minato was probably enough to keep them awake for the rest of the day; it hadn't even reached noon though. All they could do now was to go back down to the lounge and share the information with the group. There was much they had to talk about, but only a couple of things from their questioning were the things they were most worried about; the uncertainty of what becomes of the Great Seal, and Mitsuru's failure to share what could be vital information to the investigation.

For the rest of the way towards the lounge, trepidation was all they felt. And judging from Junpei's expression when they saw him, they had a thought that everyone else was feeling the same way.

**Ooooh, a cliffhanger once again! Again, I'm very sorry for making you wait for this chapter for so long, but I hoped you enjoyed it and that it was worth the wait! If I'm able to shake off the writer's burnout, I'll hopefully be able to work on the next chapter soon, so please do look forward to that. In the meantime, please keep reading and reviewing, and I really do hope to see you in Chapter Forty-Seven! Thanks guys, CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Minato: Blind?_

_Doctor: If my diagnosis yesterday was correct, she should be able to wake up tomorrow._

_Minato: This is wrong... It should be me in the bed. Yukari... Everyone... What have I done...?_


	47. Always A Fool

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Forty-Seven_

… _Always A Fool_

**Forty-seventh chapter! Nearly at Fifty! Welcome back to the story guys, I hope you are all doing well today! So... we know Minato's story now, and things aren't looking to bright at the moment. That's putting it mildly, I suppose! This one's going to be a nice short and sweet one for you. What'll happen this chapter, you ask? Let's get to it now! LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0810 – Morning – Tatsumi Hall – Boy's Floor_

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><p>"Blind?" Minato asked so suddenly, looking to the doctor as he walked with him with a concerned expression. He was never one to show his true feelings, but as the doctor could judge from his stoic and reserved demeanour, he could see it in him that he was genuinely worried. Minato may have had his hands in his pockets, but his quietness could speak louder than he was letting on. "Only temporarily though," the doctor explained, his voice echoing throughout the stairway as they both walked up to the girls' floor, "If my diagnosis from yesterday was correct, she should be able to wake up tomorrow. If not then, the next day."<p>

Minato nodded his head quietly and looked back forward to the end of the hallway where the stairs were. He had no other words to offer; Minato was always a man of very few words, but it was usually a trait which he found through personal preference A habit he would call it. This time though, even though the doctor had only met him for the first time, he just couldn't find himself to say anything; his mind was on other things. His mind only focused on his guilt. He couldn't think on anything else other than his greatest lie – that he was dead and still selling his soul for the Great Seal – and that every one of his friends had believed it for this long. That was his guilt; but then there was also his sadness.

As he walked, Minato's mind began to wander in a pool of worry, and because of it, he lost his balance slightly at times and nearly forgot where he was staring, only noticing the walls close to him to snap him out of it. He couldn't help it though. There was nothing else he could think on except for the one person his greater guilt lied with; the one person who had suffered more than anything in these past few days. His mind only led him to think that he was the one who caused her to end up this way.

"Mitsuru did tell me that you weren't the talkative type..." the doctor said out of the silence, startling Minato a bit as he spoke. Minato's head suddenly turned towards him, and he could see from his expression and fixed eye-contact that he was trying to make light conversation. As usual though, he couldn't offer many words. "... Sorry." he apologised, turning his head back forward as they approached the stairs going upwards. "It's quite alright," the doctor assured him with a light chuckle, "I understand that you all are going through some tough times at the moment. I'm sorry if I sound a little intrusive."

"No, it's okay..." Minato replied with his usual brief words. For the rest of the way, they were both silent, and the only sounds they could hear was the sound of their own footsteps stomping slightly on the staircase as they ascended to the girls' floor; the never-ending noise of the rain continued to echo off the walls, only making the hallways seemingly more haunted. Minato could remember the typhoon that hit the old Iwatodai Dorm before, and even the sound of that storm couldn't compare to what was happening outside.

Minato didn't think on it too much. He just wanted to get to Yukari's room as soon as possible; he may have only seen her two nights ago during his battle with her Shadow, but he had still yet to see her in the daylight. He felt no more yearning than he did nervous, wondering what her reaction would be if she even so much noticed his presence, and the thought of it made him unsettled. However, just as they stepped onto the second floor, the doctor reassured him. "Now, before we step in," he began, "I have to stress to you that you should not wake her up. I've been told by the others that she's still unconscious, but it's important that she gets as much sleep as possible once she becomes conscious. In the current condition she's in, her mind needs quite a lot of recovery."

Reassurance wasn't quite the word. Minato felt some kind of relief since she wouldn't know that he was there to begin with and that would help him find a way of letting her know in the near future. But at the same time, he was nothing short of worried; he could remember what she looked like once she was separated from her Shadow and she seemed so frazzled and apathetic that it almost looked at if the battle had suck all reserves of life force out of her. Her mind would've been so damaged, so he thought. "All right..." he replied in concern with the only words he could offer.

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><p><em>0810 – Yukari's Room_

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><p>The doctor and Minato stepped into Yukari's bedroom, and upon first glance, Minato's stomach churned a little. Suddenly, everything became silent once again, and the air turned heavy in an instant. All was still, as if everything that lived suddenly froze in time. To Minato, it felt that way, and just for a moment, he forgot the breath, his heart sinking just by seeing her in that bed almost motionless and like she suddenly became oblivious to everything around her.<p>

She laid silently on her back, and Minato could tell that she hadn't moved at all since coming back from the TV world; her bed covers were unspoiled and smooth without any folds or wrinkles, and her pillows were still plump. Minato found it uncomfortable to see her blindfold sitting over her eyes; it seemed like she was just asleep, but hearing about her temporary blindness earlier on was a cause for concern.

He took a moment to look around her room. He could notice the difference between her old Iwatodai Dorm room and the one he was now standing in. Posters of models were spread out from one side of the walls to the next, and he noticed a couple of 'Phoenix Ranger Featherman R' photos that were displayed near her bed. He saw Yukari in each one of those photographs, wearing the pink Featherman's costume with bow & arrow in hand. She was smiling, and she posed with the other actors who were dressed as her Featherman teammates. And then he cast his eyes over to her modelling photos; Minato could only think on how beautiful and lovely she looked, and when he switched gaze from the walls to the bed-ridden Yukari, he could find no comparison. If she had gotten out of bed right now and mimicked the same dignified poses in those photos, there would've been no difference in her beauty.

Only one thing in those pictures stood out for him though. One thing that made him sad to see now that Yukari was in bad, probably broken on the inside. In each and every photo, she looked happy; she smiled, grinned, and even laughed, and to see her in the state she's in now made Minato somewhat heartbroken. It was like all of those times were nothing to her anymore. Not with that empty void in her life that suddenly sprung on her that week ago.

Her chest rose and fell in a steady pace – the only sign of life that Minato could see. But when the doctor noticed this, his expression went from neutral to suspicious. Minato saw this straight away, which only made his nerves rattle. He watched in worry as the doctor glided to Yukari's side with his stethoscope at the ready; he placed both earpieces in his ears and stretched the tube as he bent his body down to the bed's level. As the doctor gently placed the chest-piece above her breast, Minato could only think that Yukari was still unconscious; the doctor was breaking his only rule about not waking her up, and the instruments he was using would've awoken her. But after making a number of checks, the doctor began to murmur. "Fast heart rate... but steady blood pressure..." he mumbled, "... anomalies retained in the eyes... psychological strain..."

"Hm?" Minato hummed to the doctor, hoping to get his attention. The doctor's head immediately darted towards him, almost frantically, which only worried him some more. At first, the doctor seemed somewhat concerned himself, but then tried to put on his professional reassuring expression. "Ah, sorry. I was thinking for a moment..." he replied, gathering his thoughts before coming up with a solution in his head. However, he could only offer a conclusion to Minato. "... It seems that Yukari's condition has gotten slightly worse since yesterday," he explained further, already making Minato somewhat sick in the stomach, "although, it's still nothing severe... Sorry, Minato, I'll have to let everyone else know about this. You can stay here if you'd like – well, it IS your dormitory after all... Excuse me."

And with that, the doctor left the room, somewhat too quickly for Minato's liking. His swift exit only made Minato suspicious of what he had found and he could go after him if he wanted. But he knew that he came to Yukari's room for a reason; he needed to see her, and he wasn't prepared to abandon her.

He shut the door that the doctor left through and turned back round to Yukari. He then dragged the stool by her desk towards the bed and sat down next to her, scanning his eyes up and down her body in the hope that he would see some movement from her; there was nothing. He looked again; still nothing. And after looking once more, he gave up.

Minato felt absolutely powerless. There was nothing he could do to help her, and he had only himself to blame for it. He could remember the dream vividly in his head, looking back on how similar this scene looked, and immediately recognised what Yukari might've been feeling at that time. After a while, he started to become desperate. And that was when he needed to say something to her.

"... This is wrong... It should be me in the bed..." he said in a whisper, leaning forwards in his seat, "... What happened...? Why did this happen...? "

He slowly reached over the bed and held Yukari's hand gently, using his thumb to stroke on her skin in reassurance. He could only hope that she could feel him even in her unconsciousness. He wanted a sign; a twitch, a slightly tighter grip in her hand, a gasp, anything to let him know that she was alright knowing that someone was there for her. Minato knew that he couldn't wake her up, but he needed something to make sure that she was aware that she wasn't alone. However, as he kept his hand on her hers, he could only notice how cold her skin was. It wasn't frozen to the touch, but it was too cold to call natural core temperature.

"Yukari... Everyone... What have I done...?" he mumbled to himself quietly, bowing his head down with eyes closed and with no way of solving his problem, "... What do I do...?"

For the rest of the time he stayed in Yukari's room, he was silent, and hardly daring to ruin the peace. He kept his head down, trying desperately to find a solution; countless thoughts spun around his mind, but there wasn't one that he could pick out. None of them seemed right, and none of them was something he would've wanted to consider. In the end, that was all there was; nothing. And when that fact dawned on Minato, he couldn't quite believe it. All he could do was sit in solitude and wait in hope for a miracle.

Melancholic and completely lost, Minato waited with his head down. And as he listened to each and every raindrop hit the glass window, a single tear trickled down his cheek, and soon enough, fell into the bed covers with a somber stain.

**Well... what will Minato do, I wonder? Looks like we'll be finding out soon enough! I'm really sorry that I couldn't get this chapter out sooner; had another bad case of writer's burnout, but I hope that you enjoyed it! Hopefully I'll be able to clear myself of it soon so that I can carry on writing, but let's see what happens. Like always guys, do feel free to keep reading and reviewing, and I hope to see you in Chapter Forty-Eight! Thanks very much guys! CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Junpei: He didn't even wanna see us again... What's up with that, huh?_

_Naoto: ... Forgive me if I'm being harsh in any way... but I need to ask you again._

_Akihiko: What? That's it? That's what you've been keeping from us?_

_Mitsuru: No... that's not all..._

_Akihiko: Mitsuru!_


	48. Plume Of Dusk

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Forty-Eight_

_Plume Of Dusk_

**Forty-Eight chapters and still going strong! How are you doing, my friend? Welcome to yet another chapter of the story! This has probably got nothing to do with anyone, but if you ever do have writer's burnout or writer's block while writing a Persona fanfic, just whack on Burn My Dread (Last Battle version, of course), and some motivation will come back. It'll take some getting used to in the situation I'm in now, but don't worry, I'll get there somehow! But anyway, let's get on with the story! LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0810 – Morning – Tatsumi Hall – Lounge_

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><p>Everyone listened and everyone was quiet. As Yu, Aigis, Naoto and Akihiko provided the answers to the group, they were all shocked and surprised at what they had learned from Minato's point of view. No one had guessed that it was him that they were chasing only a few days ago, and none of them had even thought that he managed to escape from the hospital by himself and that his body was not, in fact, stolen. Each and every member of the group had arrived to the same questions that the four came across after Minato told everything from his side, which only made them think that the answers were all the more worth pursuing. However, along with those realisations came something far worse; something the four had felt upon leaving his room.<p>

No one was certain about what Minato's departure from the Great Seal meant, nor did they know what was going to happen because of it. But there was only one idea that came to their minds, and it was one that they couldn't bear to think about; it scared them to the core, and for many, they even began to contemplate their own fates. Everything was silent, and no one had any words of comfort or any positive outlooks to offer to rid themselves of this ugly and poignant feeling. They were all lucky that Nanako was still sleeping in her room; she could tell a sad expression from a first glance, and nobody wanted to tell her about what was going on.

"So... what happens now?" Ken asked quietly; everyone was wondering the same thing, but the silence was enough for an answer, "... Is Nyx...?" All of sudden, everyone's heads shot up at the mention of the name, feeling unsettling churns in their stomachs; S.E.E.S could only remember her image, and the Investigation Team were left to imagine what she would've looked like. The chilling mental images only made them writhe at the thought. "We don't know..." Akihiko replied, feeling almost physically sick just as everyone else was, "... That's what makes this so damn frustrating..."

'Frustrating' wasn't quite the word for it, so everyone thought, but they could see what he meant. They knew absolutely nothing about what any of this was going to bring about, and many of them would've wanted to know now rather than later. Speculations were flooding in their minds, causing shaking legs and fidgety fingers to take over without them even knowing it. Everyone suffered as a result, feeling that the lack of knowledge was putting them at a huge disadvantage.

"I never would've guessed that the one I became friends with... was the one that you guys were looking for..." Marie said, feeling awful about not noticing it before, "If I had only known..."

"Aww, don't worry, Emmy-chan," Teddie consoled her, feeling the heavy thoughts plague his mind,"... It's not your fault." Everyone was waiting for some light-hearted quote from Teddie that didn't make any sense, or at least anything that was funny or made him seem clumsy. But after waiting a while for him to even crack a smile, there was nothing from him; he sat with his back against the cushions, holding and fidgeting with his hands, as if he was contemplating something. Of course, everyone knew what was going through his mind; they all were thinking the same thing – what fate awaited them; what would happen, if not the obvious. But even more worryingly, the thought of how they might die came to their minds. Everything was silent again, and no one dared to even talk; that was until Junpei felt the need to say something.

"He... He didn't even wanna see us again... What's up with that, huh?" he asked rhetorically, frustrated as much as he was saddened by the news, "Why couldn't he have just come back...?" Junpei could only ask as if it were a simple thing; however, many of the group knew that Minato's position in the matter was a difficult one, and he knew of that as well. They couldn't help but feel somewhat betrayed, but they were even more conflicted than anything.

They were all at a dead end; they didn't know what to do, and no solutions came to mind. All they could think about was Minato - about how a true friend suddenly became somewhat of a stranger to them. He was always a quiet person who kept himself to himself, but it was like they had met with a completely different version of him altogether. And that only put a strain on their bonds with him; they could feel it.

Before the silence could settle in again, Naoto lifted her head up from behind the tip of her cap and looked towards Mitsuru with a matched expression of despair. "Mitsuru-senpai..." she called to her, "... Forgive me if I'm being harsh in any way... but I need to ask you again." No one saw any sign of movement from Mitsuru apart from a silent nod of her head; not even her folded arms were willing to budge so that they wouldn't give away the crumbling feeling inside her. She didn't once look at Naoto, and she only stared at the carpet, as did all the others. After waiting a while for a response from Mitsuru, she still didn't answer. "Why was Minato kept in the hospital for two years?" Naoto asked for the second time, speaking in the stern manner she warned her of.

Upon receiving her only question, Mitsuru rose up from her chair - her arms still folded – and approached one of the large lounge windows that overlooked part of the road. She stared at dark backdrops, watching the rain as it came down onto the concrete with a saddened expression. Even though she was ready to give her answer though, part of her was hesitant; too hesitant for Naoto. "Mitsuru-senpai...?" the detective prince called to her again, urging her for a reply. Another pause left the room with a lingering silence that only made everyone more uncomfortable when Mitsuru wasn't answering. Eventually though, she opened her lips, sighing as she did.

"I tried..." she mumbled at first, repeating herself so that everyone could hear, "... I tried..." At first, no one knew how to react. Those two words could only give them so much information; it was too vague for anyone to call a proper answer and most, if not all of the group would've pointed it out to her. But before anyone could say anything, she continued. "I tried to persuade the doctors to release his body so that he could be brought to the coroner's office. But because none of the doctors or nurses found anything that caused his death, they decided to keep him in until they found the cause... To be honest, I knew that they wouldn't have released his body. But I just wanted to bring his body back so that we could've arranged the funeral..." she explained, pausing to recollect her thoughts.

"What? That's it?" Akihiko asked, somewhat in disbelief, "That's what you've been keeping from us?"

Mitsuru shook her head. "No... that's not all... Those doctors and nurses only examined his body for only a few days..." she said briefly before turning her body and face round to everyone. They all couldn't help but see how the raindrops fitted in so well with her look of despair, and when she took a couple of steps towards the group, the light in the room revealed something to that of guilt. Instead of interrupting her, everyone kept quiet and listened to what she had to say. She continued on. "... Some of you may know that a portion of the Tatsumi Memorial Hospital is owned by the Kirijo Group; we've sold new technologies and pharmaceuticals over to the hospital, and it's created new job opportunities. Our private doctor, the one we've been calling to check up on Minato and Yukari, was one of the people who took the role of General Practitioner for Persona-users..." she explained further; no one knew why she was telling them this information other than to digress. But before any final conclusions were brought about, Mitsuru proceeded further. "These kinds of doctors were the reason that Minato's body was kept in the hospital for such a long time. I couldn't persuade the hospital's medical staff, so I went to them instead... But I still couldn't change their minds..." she said, pausing for a second time once she saw Kanji stand up, looking as if he wanted to say something.

"But for what?" he asked, somewhat sternly but with a polite tone so that he wouldn't have come across as rude, "I mean, they would've known that you were one of his friends, right? They wouldn't just tell you that they needed to keep him there for no reason, dammit." Kanji had a point; it was quite an obvious one, but everyone agreed with him. And it was because of that obvious question that made everyone think of why Mitsuru was being so hesitant to even say it in the first place. They could only think that someone with a clear and open mind, such as Mitsuru, would've said something by now. But they all couldn't shake the feeling that she might've be hiding something, and seeing that it was Mitsuru in this position made them feel very unnerving.

It took her a while before she opened her mouth. But just before any words came out, another sigh followed through instead. Another pause later, and she began to speak again. "You won't like this part..." she said quietly, immediately surprising everyone around her. Some leaned forward in their seats with worry, and some just had to sit there waiting impatiently for her answer. Akihiko even fidgeted a bit, and had a somewhat concerned look on his face. She took another moment to recollect her thoughts, finding the best way to say what she wanted to say. But after so much thought, she didn't have much choice for phrasing; she just had to the come out with it. "He was kept in the hospital because..." Mitsuru said, breathing in a slow intake of air before her words then followed, "... they wanted to record his psyche on a Plume of Dusk... after his mind had recovered from the strain."

All of a sudden, everyone from S.E.E.S jumped out of their seats; everyone was completely stunned by the news, and . The Investigation Team just didn't react; they didn't know what was going on, nor did they know anything about a Plume of Dusk, and they were all curious to know what is was since S.E.E.S had reacted to it so brashly. Akihiko was the first to make his comment. "What?" he asked in a tone of utter surprise, confronting Mitsuru with an extremely shocked look that he couldn't change, "A Plume of Dusk...? Mitsuru, why did you keep this from us? We could've helped you to persuade them..."

He had more to say, but before he could go on any further, he examined the look on Mitsuru's saddened face very carefully. It didn't take him long to see it, but he was able to see it as clear as day, and he wasn't all that happy about it. "No..." he mumbled to himself before seeing the guilty look on her face, "... You agreed to them, didn't you...?" At first, Akihiko thought that he had made a false accusation against her. But just as he was about to take back what he said, the turning of her head said it all, and another sickening feeling in his stomach churned up another shock that jolted through his body.

"Mitsuru!" Akihiko said with a look of panic, almost shouting.

"Yes! It's true..." she eventually replied, hiding her face well away from everyone's view and feeling a strong sense of guilt as she spoke, "... I was convinced by them that it was a beneficial decision..."

"Huh?! Mitsuru-senpai, what are you talking about?!" Junpei then jumped into the conversation, sounding slightly baffled by what she had said, "What's so great about our best friend being experimented on?! Why didn't we get a say in all this?!"

Junpei couldn't gone on and on, but Mitsuru showed no sign of retaliation; it was as if she thought that it wasn't worth it – that she felt that she was completely guilty of what could've been a bad decision. Before Junpei could argue any more, Chie rose up quickly from her seat with her hands held firmly on her hips."Whoa! Junpei, hang on!" she shouted, yelling over Junpei's almost furious yet upsetting tone, "Don't give her grief about it! Don't you think that she made that decision with good intention?"

"Argh, I know that, but...! Shit..." Junpei explained himself; he immediately saw the error in his sudden outburst and began to slowly calm down from his temper. After a deep breath, he turned back to Mitsuru with an apologetic look. "... Sorry, Senpai..." he said with guilt, seeing Mitsuru look at him with the same expression on her face, "... I know you well enough to know that you'd make a good decision..."

Each and every one of S.E.E.S had been placed in a whole world of shock, realising what Mitsuru had kept from them for such a long time. But at the same time, the Investigation Team didn't know what was going on; they didn't know what the arguing was about, what the many looks of bewilderment meant, or what this Plume of Dusk was. Yukiko stood up so that she could get the attention of S.E.E.S. "Um, excuse me... Sorry..." she asked of the group, turning their heads towards her, "... But what's this all about? Something about... a 'Plume of Dusk'?"

Upon being given their question, each and every member of S.E.E.S looked to one another, searching for someone who would provide the answer; Mitsuru wasn't in the mood to answer, and Akihiko and Junpei felt that they had had enough of their say. Eventually, all eyes were on Fuuka, and she turned to Yukiko. "Well..." she began in hesitation, collecting her thoughts together before beginning, "... A Plume of Dusk is a component necessary for Anti-Shadow weapons to receive an awareness from which they can gain the ability to summon Personas. Aigis has one herself." Fuuka could put it only into short words so that the Investigation Team could get an idea of what it was firsthand. However, she still continued on with her explanation. "In order to create a Plume of Dusk, a... recorded personality is needed to help the Anti-Shadow weapons gain a psyche... Though for health and safety reasons, we only have access to psyches from the deceased."

And from that point, the Investigation Team were able to join the dots. They all looked to one another to confirm for themselves that they were all thinking the same thing; they all gave the same look, and it was clear that they were on the same page. "... I see," Yosuke said; he tried to phrase what he wanted right so that he wouldn't cause upset, "So, why is it a problem? I-I don't want to seem mean when I ask this though, but surely something like that would have some benefits..."

"It means experimentation..." Akihiko replied briefly, only upsetting himself and the group more as he said it, "... It's not just a copy-and-paste procedure; the body would need to undergo autopsy... That's why we acted the way we did just now. But though we can't agree with this, there are benefits." Akihiko almost looked like he hated to admit it; it was one of the things he found as a downside to being a trainee police detective – that he had to take all sides into account and not just one. At this point, the Investigation Team's curiosity were piqued, and Akihiko's lack of provided information only prompted them to ask. "What like?" Rise asked slowly, hoping that she wasn't prying.

No one from S.E.E.S wanted to say anything and only left them wondering in silence; that was until Mitsuru decided that she needed to answer her question. "Well..." she began, lifting her head up with the only confidence she had, "... We've only ever had one patient who provided the contents of their psyche, and it's the same one that has given an awareness to Aigis and the models before her, and that has gained them all a Persona. But... how should I put this...?" She recollected her words, trying to find a sensible way of saying it. Everyone from the Investigation Team waited for a response, but after a while, Mitsuru looked towards them and continued. "Imagine future models after Aigis that were granted a psyche from Minato. They would potentially have the same power he had- no... has... and the power to fight against Shadows would've been much larger... I can see why they would've wanted to go through with the idea, but why I let them do it – I'll never know."

After Mitsuru had finished explaining, each member of the Investigation Team looked to one another again. It was no doubt that they were all thinking the same thing, but when Yu and Naoto looked to one another, they were all unaware of what was on their minds; they both knew that something didn't seem right about this. They believed Mitsuru with every word she said, but they didn't think that it was her fault; not one bit. When they quietly confirmed their same line of thinking, Naoto nodded to Yu and he nodded back.

Yu stood up from his seat and walked over to Mitsuru; she was still hurting from her guilt, and he needed to reassure her. He didn't think that she should be feeling like this. There was something else. "Mitsuru," he said to her, getting no worded or physical response, "you said that the General Practitioners were the ones that convinced you to go with this idea, right?" Upon being asked, Mitsuru responded with a short look at Yu and a nod of her head. Yu continued with the theory at the forefront of his mind. "So why didn't they listen to you even though you're the Head of the Kirijo Group?"

This time, Mitsuru only looked at Yu and then turned her gaze to the corners of her mind; as she looked into the distance, she tried to find an answer to give to Yu. However, after thinking for so long without finding anything, she turned her head back to the leader. "... I don't know..." Mitsuru replied honestly, "... They've always been loyal colleagues of mine, so it did come as quite a shock when they wouldn't listen to me..."

"Then maybe something must've changed," Naoto spoke up from the faraway couch, standing up when her detective mind began to buzz. "Something must've made them go against your wishes." And in that very instant, everyone's thoughts began to stir; all of sudden, it went from a brutal question of morals to an investigation lead, and everyone in the room started to notice that with every reaction from the group members. "Mitsuru-senpai, do you know anyone who would take authority over you? Maybe in absence or anyone within the Kirijo Group who wanted to take charge? Anyone at all...?" Naoto asked Mitsuru in a rushed tone, hoping to home in on the oddity at hand.

Mitsuru shook her head with confidence. "Not that I know of. I've only taken over the Kirijo Group for less than two years, and I hadn't assigned anyone to be second in command or anything like that. No one seemed particularly suspicious either." she explained, slowly coming out of her saddened expression. What she said didn't really help the case, and just for a moment, they came to a dead end. But a surprising strike of inspiration suddenly came Kanji. "Well, it looks we only got one more guy to ask then, huh?" he asked, suddenly turning everyone's attention to the only person and only hope to provide any concrete information – someone who would know more about the General Practitioners than anyone in the room.

"Our private GP... Of course!" Ken said upon realisation, naming their person for questioning before anyone else could. Immediately, the mood picked up; the heaviness of the revelation transitioned so fast to satisfaction knowing that a new piece of information was about to surface. It was as if they had just forgotten all about their recent fiasco, in the knowledge that it was then proven that Mitsuru wasn't to blame and that they might now be onto something. They all couldn't help that the two culprits would've had something to do with it; everything so far had pointed towards them, with the exceptions caused by Minato himself. But nonetheless, they were getting somewhere.

After a while of agreement, the doctor eventually came down from upstairs and began to walk over to the group. "Ah, doc! We were just talking about you." Junpei said, watching as the doctor came towards them whilst fixing his tie. He giggled a bit before he stopped to stand on the spot. "Haha, no wonder my ears were burning!" he joked, holding his hands out in front of him in a gentlemanly manner, "I hope it was something nice."

"Actually, we'd like to ask you some questions if you don't mind," Naoto said with her questions already prepared in her head. Before she could ask though, she waited for the doctor's approval. Immediately though, he gave her a nod of his head and gestured with open hands. "Well, this is sudden. But please, fire away." he replied, standing in wait for Naoto to continue. First, Naoto examined the doctor's posture for any signs of nervousness or fear; she couldn't find anything. He didn't fidget with his hands, nor did his feet move. It was plain to see that he was fully composed which meant to Naoto that he had nothing to hide, and that indicated to her that the questioning shouldn't take long. In that understanding, Naoto proceeded to shoot her questions.

"You work with a group of highly-experienced General Practitioners for Persona-users, such as yourself, correct? That you work in a team and not alone?" she asked in detail.

"Well, there are actually times when we'd work alone – mostly when we're checking up on your health – But for much of the time, we're always working together for things like research and discovery of new Persona-related damage. So to answer your question, you're correct." the doctor replied in self-confidence.

"So does that mean that you all know what's going on in your group in terms of scheduled procedures, or something of the sort?"

"Yes, that's right. We're only a handful of people who have qualified for our job roles, so letting each other know of what was happening was vital."

"Then I would assume that you were also notified of the making of this 'Plume of Dusk'? The one the GPs were planning on creating from Minato's psyche?"

Naoto always had a knack for revealing the true nature in people just by asking them a few questions, none of which she was particularly joyful about, but rather satisfied even if the one she was asking was completely honest; it was one of the perks of her detective role. At this point in the questioning, Naoto knew that the doctor would act in either of three ways – he would either hesitate to reveal the truth, whether he was lying in the first place or not, put the truth on hold for a suspicious amount of time for Naoto to notice and call him out on it, or he would just be outright honest. And before she could determine which one of those he would be, the doctor immediately proceeded to quell any doubts she had.

"That's correct," he replied with confidence, presenting himself as though he wasn't hiding anything, "I was put on the team to provide the right internal research so that the autopsy on Minato would go as smoothly as possible. But believe me, I was quite shocked to hear from my colleagues about Minato being scheduled for the Plume of Dusk manufacturing process. I was probably the only one who was against that decision, because I know how important he was to you all, and putting his body into something like that would've probably been the last thing you would've wanted. Besides, a strained and damaged brain would've made the process more difficult and have an increased risk of failure, so there would've been a good chance that the autopsy would've been for nothing."

No one could argue that he wasn't telling the truth. Everything he said sounded genuine, and the story he told would've probably been hard to tell from someone who was lying. He spoke without hesitation and with a clear, authoritative tone, and that left no room for doubt for them all. Going by this knowledge, the questions kept coming.

"Okay. So we can safely assume that you weren't one of the doctors who pretty much forced Mitsuru to choose the autopsy over anything else," Yosuke said, getting it across to the group in a projected voice, "but because you work closely with your colleagues, surely that must mean that you have an idea of who _did_ try to convince her. Do you know who they are?"

The doctor didn't take long to respond nor to even think about it, and replied in that very instant. "I know them very well. But it's strange..." he said, arousing everyone's curiosity by those three words he uttered, "... Usually those two seemed quite content with their jobs, always joking, always friendly. But then one day, they were just oblivious to the world; they weren't happy, they weren't enjoying their job like they used to, and they didn't even talk to anyone. But the one thing that made them respond at all was when they told us about making preparations for Minato's autopsy."

All of a sudden, everyone had their lead; everything they knew so far – the two fellow General Practitioners, their involvement with Minato's scheduled autopsy, and their sudden change in demeanour – was enough for them to go on to find more information, they all thought. But there was one more thing they needed before they could move on. Akihiko, building confidence in where they were at, was the next to speak. "Right, it looks like we've got a heading," he said to the group before turning back to the doctor, "We can come down to the hospital to question them. Do you know what their names are?"

They were on a winning streak with leads up until that point as the doctor only shook his head with a somewhat sad expression. All of a sudden, the confident looks around the room immediately transitioned into concern very quickly. "I'm afraid questioning them will be pointless..." he said, getting suspicious looks from the group, "... You see... they're now feeling the full effects of Apathy Syndrome. You won't be able to get through to them..."

Everyone recoiled in shock at that familiar name; S.E.E.S knew it all too well, and even though they had only known about it for a small period of time, the Investigation Team can just picture it in their heads. At that moment, everyone thought that their lead had just been snatched away from them. But before they could give up on it, the doctor reassured them. "However, I might have something back at the office which might be of use to you. We've kept recordings of the lab areas overnight ever since you've notified me of the Dark Hour's return; I haven't seen them myself, but maybe you'll find something there."

Slowly but surely, hope for new information was coming back to them, but then that same feeling of hope accommodated them with a fear that they might end up at another dead end. And in that moment, it was as if things were still not going in their favour at all, coming out of feelings of sadness and devastation that was caused by the news from Minato, to a feeling of worry that the investigation might become even more difficult. Everything in that one morning was completely disastrous.

"Thank you, doctor. You've been most helpful." Naoto said in gratitude to the doctor.

Everyone knew that the doctor's business was now finished here. Before anyone could escort him towards the door, however, Aigis stood up and gave everyone a gentle reminder of why the doctor was here in the first place. She looked absolutely worried, and she seemed like she was hesitating to talk. "... How is Yukari-san, doctor? Is she still recovering?" she asked quietly, instantly turned everyone's attention to the doctor for an answer they desperately needed to hear. It was then that the bad came to worse.

The doctor simply shook his head, and a growing panic started to rise in everyone; they all feared the worst, but the doctor already came prepared. "I'm afraid it's not looking good..." he said, getting a few gasps from the group, "... The anomalies in her eyes are not recovering at all. In fact, they're becoming worse. The strain in her mind is intensifying for some reason, and her heart rate has risen." He only made it seem like she was about to face something far worse than just injuries to the mind, and everyone reacted to it. To hear that her condition is getting worse was the last thing they needed to hear after the news they had to endure for the whole time of being awake early during the morning.

Everyone was at a loss for words, and they could only think that it couldn't get any more of a disaster than it was at that moment. But the doctor still had much to say. "Now, I have to ask you something, and I might find a solution based on your answer..." the doctor explained, making everyone utterly nervous for what he was going to say. Each and every one of them either leaned forward or fidgeted with their hair or fingers; some even were shaking their legs uncontrollably and some gritted their teeth. Panic was everything they felt until the doctor finally spoke.

"The Shadow you all fought in the TV... Yukari's Shadow. Did Yukari manage to accept it?" he asked, emphasising each word as if there were no other option; but judging from the look of his face, everyone knew that there was really no other choice they had. However, they could remember everything that happened after Minato and Yukari had lost consciousness in the TV world. "Actually..." Fuuka began her reply, taking a moment confirming her thoughts in her head, "... No. We took Minato and Yukari back for medical attention. I don't think we even thought about the Shadow since it was just lying there when we went..."

All of a sudden, a little bit of relief came on the doctor's face, and all of his expertise in Persona-related damage came together to formulate his conclusion. "Then that has to be the problem," the doctor said, very confidently and with a tone that suggested that he was definitely sure about what needed to be done, "Her Shadow is what's causing this. Because it fused with her for a temporary time, and without accepting it before she ended up unconscious, the Shadow has become a... a 'part' of her, so to say. It's eating away at her mind, and will continue to do so until Yukari accepts it."

It was a big relief for the group; there was no mention of anything life-threatening or anything of the kind, but they had still yet to find a way to get Yukari to accept the Shadow. When they looked on their situation though, it wasn't going to be as easy as it sounded. She was unconscious and there would've been no way to get her awake if the Shadow was swallowing her up from the inside; she wouldn't have a voice, and maybe not even an awareness of what's happening outside of her. "Then how are we supposed to make her accept her Shadow when she's in this state? We can't just wake her up." Marie asked, only saying it sternly for the sake of her friends.

"There is one way..." Yu said briefly. He was looking down at the floor, as if contemplating something, but at the same time, he seemed like he was troubled by his own thoughts. "What is it, Senpai?" Rise asked, leaning forward in her seat next to him so that she could get a look of him. He had no words though; all he did was look at her with that same expression that suggested that they all knew what he was talking about. He scanned his eyes across the room to each and every member of S.E.E.S and the Investigation Team, and they gradually began to realise what he was trying to say. Junpei was the first to notice the message in his look.

"Wait... Are you suggesting that we have to go back in the TV and find Yukari's Shadow?!" he shouted. He could only think that he was crazy enough to go back to a Shadow that powerful, especially after it caused injury to his ribs and after it managed to wipe out the whole group before Minato jumped in to revive them. No matter how much Yu looked at Junpei with that same look, he wasn't having it. "But even if we did go there, what then? We still won't be able to wake Yukari up to accept her Shadow no matter what we do."

"But what about Minato? If Yukari can respond to anything in the state she's in, it's got to be him." Yu replied, only with a slight confidence about what he was proposing, "The odds of her waking up are not in our favour, but we've got to try something." Everyone knew that he was right; Yukari wasn't going to wake up easily even if they tried conventional means, but she was their friend, and for some, best friend. And if there was one thing they knew as a group, it would be that giving up on friends is not an option. They had to try, and try harder if it didn't go to plan.

Everyone was silent and feeling somewhat hopeless about the situation. But then the doctor jumped back into the conversation, and sought to give them reassurance. "You might actually be in luck there," he said, immediately watching the many heads shoot up towards him, "According to medical research, keeping close ones such as family, friends or partners, is a positive way of communicating with unconscious patients. Although strained, her mind is still very much active, and thus, her senses will still be functional. And I understand from Mitsuru that Yukari's relationship with Minato is very strong indeed, and usually, lovers have created the more potent triggered response."

The doctor seemed very confident in his solution, and it made everyone feel, not just relieved, but suddenly full of hope and with a clear sense of what to do. Once again, they all looked to one another, and noticed the grins that were widening on their faces. "You mean... there's a chance?!" Yukiko asked, almost ecstatic in her asking. The doctor nodded, but only briefly. "I can't promise anything, but there's a good chance. Unconsciousness in a Persona-user is much different from normal human beings. It may sound strange, but they – or should I say you – have much more... capacity for consciousness, if you'd like; they're surprisingly conscious on the inside but unconscious to the outside world even though the senses still work. I'm rambling though... What needs to be said is that if you can get her to accept her Shadow tonight, her recovery should be a fast one."

Although the doctor had rambled on, the information was, nonetheless, helpful; every positive word about solving the root cause of Yukari's condition brought back so much hope that everyone was willing to go tonight, as the doctor had recommended. If they would've, they'd have stood up from their seats and headed straight for the TV world to find the Shadow. However, when they thought on it, there was only one problem that stood in the way. Just for a moment they had forgotten about him, but when they finally realised the predicament, the hope had slowly diminished again. "What about Minato though?" Ken asked, saddened to think of the guilty face he saw only a couple of nights ago, "Would he even want to see us? I mean, he said it so himself, didn't he?"

The gloomy expressions returned to the lounge, and no one thought of an answer to give to Ken. He asked without expecting one anyway, and he knew that any answer wouldn't have been good enough. Everyone found it so strange that someone they thought as a very close friend was suddenly on the dark side, just in his own problems as they all were before he came along to guide them through it; it seemed that the roles had reversed, but the only difference being that they didn't know how to help him. "I'm afraid I can't help you there..." the doctor said apologetically, "... But do keep in touch should you need anything. In the meantime, I shall prepare the video recordings for when you come by."

"Alright... thanks, doc," Junpei said in gratitude on behalf of the silent group, "I'll show you the way out." And with that, the doctor made his leave, and the silence made the atmosphere grow even more heavier. Everyone was at a loss for words, it seemed. But that was until Yu walked away from Mitsuru's side and headed towards the stairs.

"Where are you going, Senpai?" Kanji asked, following him walk from one side of the room to the next with his eyes fixated on him.

"I'm going to see Minato. Help him out a bit." he replied, still moving towards the staircase. But then after a short while of silence, he spun himself round. "Can I just say something? I... I don't mean this in a rude way or anything..." he spoke again, gesturing with his hands as if he was trying to get something through to S.E.E.S, "... But if I was Minato's friend right now... I would be glad that he was back. I wouldn't be just sitting around wondering what will happen or why this had to happen. What's done is done, and we can't just change it back. He's here now... Your friend is here now, right? So let's not treat him like he isn't one."

And after having his say, even though it was quite stern in tone, everyone reacted with surprised expressions; they hadn't seen Yu like that before, but at the same time, that same attitude for knowing what's right had shown through as well. No one had anything to say back to him; he had pretty much outlined everything that needed to be said. After a while of looking at each and every one of the group, Yu turned back around and continued the ascent up the stairs.

Everyone always found Yu to be very fond of his friends and that he valued friendship and bonds more than anyone in the room could; that same drive for something so precious was the thing that pushed him to say all of that to them, and in a way, they all needed that. They didn't even need to look to another teammate to find out what they were thinking. The silence said it all, and it didn't take long for them to realise that they, in their own individual selves, were to blame for thinking the way they did.

"... He's right you know..." Akihiko muttered as he turned his head away from the stairs.

"Yeah... What the hell are we thinking...?" Junpei said in agreement, placing a guilty hand on the side of his cheek.

Although what they said was brief, no one could've said it better. But then a sad whimper from Koromaru echoed throughout the lounge, and the mutual feeling of guilt spread across the room like a disease. In a way though, they felt that it was what they deserved.

**Well... what's going to become of Yukari? What will Yu tell Minato to get him to get back on the team? Find out next chapter! Haha, I have a real bad habit of using cliffhangers, don't I? But anyway guys, thank you so much for reading this chapter – I hope you enjoyed it, and thank you ever so much for staying with me for this long! I know it's a very long story, but man, just THANK YOU for sticking with it for the last forty-eight chapters! But now, let's look forward to the Forty-Ninth! Please do keep reading and reviewing, and I hope to see you all very soon! CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Yu: The reason they are wondering is because they still care for you. More than any friend could love a person._

_Minato: How could they care? I've put them in danger. Who could want that from me?_

_Yu: I've fought with your friends. Even though they got hurt here and there, they always got back up._

_Minato: What's the good in me being here?_


	49. A Genuine Bond

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Forty-Nine_

_A Genuine Bond_

**Hello guys! How are you all doing? Welcome to the Forty-Ninth chapter! We're almost at FIFTY! So sorry, once again, that this chapter took so long to get out – Things at my University are getting very busy now after getting a promotion at my student radio station, and chapter production is going to be much slower as a result. Don't you worry though, I'm going to see this story through 'til the end! But for now... LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0810 - Morning - Tatsumi Hall - First Floor_

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><p>Yu continued his ascent towards the Tatsumi Hall's second floor, thinking back on what he had said to S.E.E.S before going up the stairs. He couldn't help but think that he may have been a little too harsh after all that had happened. At the same time though, he felt that it was something that they all needed to know, especially when it came to their most precious friend; he knew fully well about what friendship truly is – his last adventure had taught him that much – and it was almost as if he had gotten something off his chest. However, as he climbed higher and higher, he could just imagine what they were thinking about at that moment.<p>

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><p><em>0810 - Morning - Second Floor_

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><p>Eventually, he reached the girls' floor and headed straight for Yukari's room. He remembered that the doctor had said that Minato was going to visit Yukari for a short while and he was certain, if not somewhat expecting, that he was going to be there. He approached the door, and with quiet steps and a slow turn of the handle, walked inside.<p>

He stepped inside, keeping his body close to the edge of the door as he entered. His eyes scanned from left to right, but strangely enough, there was no sign of Minato anywhere. The only moving thing in the room was Yukari, still unconscious, but breathing. The heavy atmosphere hit Yu as he came in, and just for a moment, he forgot how silent it was between the room and the hallway. It was an unsettling feeling.

"Minato?" he called, keeping his voice down as he looked around himself. There was no response. _"Hmm… He's not here." _he then thought to himself. The room was quite small, and Yu knew that he could've spotted anyone in this small space, especially Minato. With that in mind, he decided to leave the room. But before he did, he scanned the area one last time. As he did, he suddenly noticed a note on Yukari's bedside table. He walked slowly towards it, trying to keep his steps light, and extended his arm to grab the folded piece of paper. He opened it and scanned his eyes across the large words that were neatly scribbled onto the note.

It read,_ "I'm on the rooftop if anyone needs me – Minato." _It was a very brief note, but Yu knew that any member of S.E.E.S would've thought that it was very much like him to write something so short and to the point. He could only wonder why Minato had gone to the roof, especially in such weather. However, he could remember the guilty look in his eye that he only saw moments ago, and could only imagine what Minato was going through. Many times had S.E.E.S told him about Minato's usual demeanor as the silent, nonchalant leader, never talking about his past and keeping all feeling, if any, to himself. Seeing him display his emotions to Yu was out of the ordinary, even if it was his first meeting with him.

With a sigh, Yu quietly left Yukari's room and headed for the rooftop. The more he climbed the stairs, the more he could hear the echoes of rain coming from the small door that stood at the very top of the staircase.

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><p><em>0810 - Morning - Rooftop_

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><p>Yu placed a hand on the doorknob but stopped in hesitation. One last flurry of thoughts whizzed around his head before he finally opened the door.<p>

The rain had seemed to have let up a bit, but it was still coming down at a modest rate. The storm still made it hard to see anything around him, but in the distance, Yu could see Minato sitting down. His hands were in his pockets, and he could only just make out the blue hair that hanged from his lowered head. He was still, and didn't even shudder.

"Minato…" Yu said in sympathy.

Before stepping outside, Yu grabbed an umbrella from the clothes rack that stood at the side of the door and opened it up from the outside. He began to approach Minato, trying not to let the overwhelming noise of the rain cloud his thoughts. He thought of what to say and what to do, but after putting so much thought into it, he decided that it would be best to just let it happen. Yu hesitated slightly at the last few steps after a slight change of mind, but with a quick fix of resolve, he pushed forward. In no time at all, he was stood next to Minato.

Yu looked over the edge at which Minato was sitting on and immediately felt a sudden strike of vertigo. _"Whoa…" _Yu thought to himself, feeling as if he was teetering. He had never thought that the rooftop was so far up, and when he looked over to Minato, he was utterly baffled. He was sat on the elevated edge as if it were a park bench, and even though he was looking down towards the concrete below, he was completely neutral. The height didn't faze him, and there was no fear in his expression. If anything, he looked as if he didn't want to come away from the edge anytime soon.

With a quick intake courage, Yu crouched down and shifted himself towards the edge so that he was sat on the elevated stone. He held the umbrella between them, shielding Minato from the rain – even though his hair and face was completely drenched.

Upon realising this, Minato looked up and saw the shade of yellow that loomed above him and looked towards the one who was keeping him dry. "Oh… Yu…" he said quietly, looking back down at sidewalk below, "… What are you doing here?"

"I saw your note. I figured that coming to the rooftop while it was raining was a cause for concern as well…" Yu replied, hoping that a friendly joke would've changed Minato slightly.

"Hmph," Minato chuckled dryly, "I guess I am prone to colds in this weather."

"… That's not what I meant."

"Don't worry. I've been higher than this…"

Yu could see that Minato was trying to avoid the conversation completely. He wanted somewhere secluded; somewhere cut off from the people who really mattered to him. That worried him greatly, especially when he was only one foot away from falling off the Tatsumi Hall. Yu decided that he needed to get to the heart of the matter.

"Minato… I can't imagine what must be going through your head right now. But… you have to come downstairs. Everyone is waiting for you." Yu explained, hoping that anything he was saying was getting through to Minato. However, Minato didn't even look at Yu and only responded with very few words. "Are they?" he asked him, somewhat hinting that he was seriously doubting was Yu was saying, "Even if they were… I wouldn't be their friend anymore…"

Yu was taken aback. It was as if Minato had sensed his bonds fading away from him. Yu knew how that would've felt, being a wielder of the Wild Card as well. He understood the gravity of the situation, but he knew that there was no reason not to fix it, even if it was almost damaged beyond repair.

"How could you say that?" he said boldly, managing to get Minato's attention. "You were close to them, weren't you?"

With a sad look, Minato gave a slow nod of his head, but kept his eyes on him when he saw his mouth open. Yu continued, "I was in the lounge with them just now. Sure, they were wondering about why you didn't come to them… But the reason they are wondering is because they still care for you. More than any friend could love a person."

"How could they care?" Minato then asked, turning his head away, "I've put them in danger. What kind of person would want to be friends with someone like that? Someone who… may have let Nyx out…? Who could want that from me?" Yu's first reaction was that of fear. Fear that Nyx's second coming might've been the product of Minato's return. However, there's no evidence of it happening, and even Minato didn't know if it would happen. All Yu could do was shake his head, and Minato could see it in the corner of his eye. At first, he just wanted to ignore it. But nevertheless, Yu needed to prove him wrong.

"Look, Minato. You sacrificed your life for them; they haven't forgotten that and they never will. Deep inside, amongst all this madness, they're glad that you're here. They missed you so much, especially Yukari," Yu explained, attracting Minato's attention once again, "Maybe Nyx has been let loose… but we don't know that. Maybe you have put your friends in danger, but didn't you before? When you became their leader and held their hand as you all climbed Tartarus?"

Minato's head lowered slightly at Yu's words, but even though he silently admitted to some things, he still didn't want to believe that the tension between him and S.E.E.S had been lifted. The strain in his heart was still there, and it only encouraged him to keep denying. "They still got hurt, every time we went in there…" Minato said, somewhat sternly, "… I couldn't prevent the harm then and I can't even do it now… What's the good in me being here?"

"Stop that." Yu suddenly spat, cutting Minato off from saying anything else. There was a long pause for a moment, which discomforted Minato. Before he could speak, Yu calmed himself down a bit and looked at Minato dead in the eye. "I've fought with your friends. Even though they got hurt here and there, they always got back up. They're able to take care of themselves and you should know that… Surely there have been times when they've had to help you get back on your feet, right?"

All of a sudden, a stunned expression radiated from Minato's face. He was rendered speechless by Yu's words, and although the thoughts of denial were swimming back into his mind, Yu was still there to quell them. "Your friends are much stronger than you think. But maybe you just need to remember that strength of bonds… It has been a while since you've spoken to them properly…"

Minato turned his head away once more, not making a sound. Yu could only sigh at how this conversation turned out, and even though he could've gone on for the rest of the day, he knew that Minato wasn't going to speak. "Listen… I'm going back inside now," Yu said, standing up to his feet and backing away from the edge, "Just… just think about this, okay? Nothing good comes from just being stuck and doing nothing about it. If we don't do something, we'll never get answers; about the culprits, about you… about Yukari… Your friends need you, Minato. They need someone to guide them. They need you to let them know that everything will be okay and that we can all get through this together… They need their friend back."

The words cut deep into Minato, and all he could feel was guilt and anger at himself, although he didn't show it. After saying so much, Yu made one last attempt before going back into the building. "So please… come back downstairs…" he pleaded.

He waited a long while for a response, but Minato never moved an inch. He didn't even turn to show his recognition. With a sad sigh, Yu lingered there for a moment just staring at the still Minato before finally turning slowly towards the door. He walked slowly, as if completely drained of energy and enthusiasm.

As the metal door creaked open, thoughts began to spin and whir around Minato's head. The guilt grew, and the urge to speak overtook him. Just as the door opened, it was as if Yu's words were finally getting through to him; his thoughts were slotting in the right places. Eventually, he came to a realisation and quickly lifted his head up.

"_Idiot…" _Minato thought to himself, recognising his fault.

"Wait." he said, almost in a yell. He turned himself around and looked towards Yu. He was halfway through the doorway, and his head turned round to Minato with a look of hope. Minato stood up and stepped away from the edge of the building, walking towards Yu with, what looked like, confidence in his posture. Yu took a step back so that he could let Minato into the room and watched as the blue-haired boy lifted his head up to him so that he could see his eyes.

"Yes?" Yu asked, hopeful that Minato had a change of mind, even though he knew that it was evident at this point.

Minato sighed, as if dropped a few weights off his shoulder, before replying. "You're right… We'll never get anywhere without answers. If we're going to find them, we'll find them together. All of us." He responded, as if experiencing an epiphany. And in that moment, the atmosphere began to pick up; Yu smiled knowing that Minato had finally come to his senses, and Minato had even managed to offer one of his timid smiles. Though only slightly, the strain in his chest had recovered, as if he could feel the tension of his bonds easing bit by bit.

Yu held his hand out, offering his handshake as a friendly gesture. "It's nice to finally meet you, Minato Arisato." He greeted jokingly, acting as if the two had only just met. Minato could only chuckle slightly before holding out his own hand to shake his. "A pleasure, Yu Narukami." He replied, feeling warm as he gently greeted him. They had shook each other's hand for a long while before finally pulling away. But it was just when they did that something suddenly quaked in their minds.

"Ugh!" the two cried out in unison, feeling the sharp pain enter their brains at the same time. Everything around them became quiet, but the familiar voice in their head that followed was as loud and proud as ever. At first, they didn't know what was going on, but after concentrating on the situation, they realised.

_Thou art I… and I am Thou_

_The meeting of equal power; A bond measured to infinity_

_Both together, but separate_

_Thou shalt have our blessing when one Fool resonates with another_

_Thy power grows endless…_

The voice slowly draws away back into the subconscious, and everything starts to become audible again. Their blank faces look to each other as if silently asking if they had just experienced the same thing; their expressions to one another confirmed it though. They both heard it. And that could only mean one thing.

"_A social link…" _they both thought. They smiled to each other, not needing to say anything about what just happened. They both knew what was going on, and that was enough for them. Casually, they both began their descent down the stairs making their way towards the lounge where everyone was waiting with bated breath.

One resolve was fixed, but there were many more that needed attention. Minato was more than determined to make amends, and even though he was nervous, he knew that it was the best decision. It was the right decision.

**Well, you all waited for it for SO long, and here it was! REALLY sorry that haven't heard from me in a long, long, long while, but as I said, things are getting VERY busy where I am. But if this chapter is anything to go by, we might be in for more chapters! Thank you very much for reading guys. Keep reading and reviewing and I shall see you for the big milestone! Onwards to Chapter FIFTY! CYA!**

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><p><span><em>Next Time... [Midnight Channel broadcasts...]<em>

BGM: Backside of the TV - Persona 4 OST

_Teddie: So, we've got the whole group now, huh?_

_Minato: Not the whole group..._

_Yukiko: Are you both suggesting that we go back into the TV world?_

_Akihiko: But where did the dream come from in the first place if it wasn't like a normal dream?_

_Shadow Yukari: Minato... Please... answer me..._

_Yu: We should go._


	50. Where Is She?

_Persona: World And Judgement – Chapter Fifty_

_Where Is She?_

**Well… we made it! The fiftieth chapter – and a huge milestone at that! We've come a long way, haven't we? It doesn't seem that long ago since this story started… and you know what? I wish it could go on forever! What will happen in this chapter, you say? Well, we'll find out won't we! Without further ado, let's kickstart the big 5-0! LET'S GT-R-DONE!**

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><p><em>0810 - Afternoon - Tatsumi Hall - Lounge_

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><p>No one cared one bit that Minato was soaking wet; all of S.E.E.S wanted to embrace him, as if they had to make up for the last two years, as well as how they behaved towards him only moments ago. The greetings were varied. Some were inclined to apologise, and some just had to express how happy they were to see him again. A couple of them even struggled to hold back the tears, but the fact was that he was dearly missed. Just him being with them in that moment meant the world to them, and even just for a moment, they didn't care about anything else.<p>

Following suit, the Investigation Team repeated their introductions, but for the reason of making up for the fact that they couldn't do it properly during the fight. After a few warm handshakes, and even a couple of friendly hugs, Minato was now a part of the unified group; a big part that everyone only knew now as something that seemed missing this whole time. Everyone felt that, and Minato could feel that reaction, like something gently strummed on the threads of his bonds.

For much of the time, everyone was frantically standing up and weaving in and around each other so that they all could have an equal chance at welcoming back their famous blue-haired cohort. After a while, everything settled down, and everyone was down on the couches, trying to act somewhat normally. They all got chatting for a while, even if it was to a quiet level, and Minato had even managed to familiarise himself with everyone's mannerisms; how they talked, how they gestured, and how they reacted to other people. It's like everything about his friends came back to him, and as for the Investigation Team, he felt quite acquainted towards each and every one of them. He felt comforted knowing that.

"Man, it's still crazy though," Junpei said to Minato with a wide grin on his face, chuckling slightly, "It's like you never left us! Ahh, it's good to have my best buddy back!" Everyone couldn't have put it better; Junpei expressing his feelings brought many smiles to the group.

Not one person from S.E.E.S left out their gratitude to Yu; he was the one who finally bridged the gap between Minato and his friends, and without him, they wouldn't have had any clue about what to do. They were only glad that they had someone, who had a deep understanding of bonds, with them during that difficult time.

Minato gave one of his small grins, chuckling slightly when he felt Junpei's friendly hand slam onto his shoulder. He had no words to offer. If anything, he was baffled, but content that S.E.E.S were still so supporting, even though his constant fears of putting them in grave danger were still lingering vaguely in his mind. But at the same time, he could sense that everyone was thinking the same thing, even though they were still smiling and being so welcoming.

"We're so sorry about before, Minato-senpai," Ken apologised on behalf of the group, leaning forward in his seat with expressions of optimism, "We're all really glad that you're here though! We've missed you!"

"I'm sorry as well…" Minato also apologised, lowering his head but with the slight grin still on his face, "… For all of this."

"Hey, c'mon! The only thing that matters now is that you're here, alive. I mean, it's going to take some getting used to, but it surely won't feel_ that _different. We're a close unit after all." Akihiko explained with confidence. His short speech only made Minato think more on how supportive his friends were; he even briefly reached a moment where he contemplated if he even deserved these people. But in the end, they were the people that he was the most grateful for, and it really showed. Slightly grinning again, Minato swept his eyes across the room, looking at each and every one of S.E.E.S. "Thanks," he quietly said, "Thank you."

Many of S.E.E.S chuckled in an exhale of breath, as if they had remembered all of those times when Minato would show his expression in only a couple of words and knew that it was totally him. Minato then lifted his head up and looked towards Yu with a slight nod. "We have to thank you as well, Yu." he said, gesturing a hand of gratitude to him.

In that instant, every one of S.E.E.S looked towards Yu with the same look of thanks. They all murmured happily in agreement, and Yu could hear the many polite remarks that were given to him.

"Of course! We can't thank you enough, Yu." Fuuka said, much louder than anyone else.

"Yes. It was a much-needed wake up call for all of us. Assuming responsibility of our friendship was something we should've done from the start. But we're very glad that you stepped in when we didn't." Mitsuru spoke, thanking their leader on behalf of the whole group.

All Yu could do was just shake his head with a smile, gesturing that he didn't really do anything. However, even the Investigation Team were insisting that he was the one who rebuilt the bridge between Minato and S.E.E.S, and that he needed to get all the thanks for it.

"Yep! That's my Senpai!" Rise shouted out as she tightly embraced Yu's arm, even though Marie was in the room somewhat sulking as she watched.

"Ahh, there he goes again; being all modest and claiming that he didn't do anything. That's so like you!" Yosuke joked, shaking Yu's shoulder in his usual brotherly manner.

"Hey, guys, c'mon…" Yu said in the chuckle, hoping that his words were getting across to someone, "… It's not like I made you guys to be friends again or anything. I only said what I thought and you all did the rest. It was your own resolves."

"Well, whatever it was, at least everything's sorted out now." said Kanji, rounding off the conversation perfectly.

In that moment, S.E.E.S were once again reminded of Yu's abundance of wisdom. Everything he said could make things into gold so easily. Minato could see that he was truly a leader. Before anyone could continue the argument of who needed to receive the gratitude, everything settled down, and for a while, everyone just wanted to bask in the peace that filled the room.

Teddie couldn't help but feel somewhat excited with how big the group was becoming, and he even looked to Minato as if he was something of a mentor. "So, we've got the whole group now, huh?" he happily remarked, leaning forward in his seat with his hands slapping on his knees. However, even though Minato's reunion would've been a cheerful one, there was still one thing that played on everyone's minds.

"Not the whole group…" Minato pointed out, reminding him and everyone of the situation they were faced with, "… Yu had told me about Yukari's condition. She's still suffering from her Shadow's hold on her mind."

"That's right… And the only way she can wake up is if she accepts her Shadow…" Chie explained, just as worried about the real problem as everyone else was. No one even wanted to think about it because of the lack of solutions, but the niggling in Naoto's mind couldn't prevent her from explaining the rest of the story. "But… the crux is, how will she be able to accept it if she can't wake up?"

Koromaru whimpered at Naoto's words. Of course, no one could answer that question. Up until now, every Shadow they've faced had been fully accepted by a conscious person who was capable of getting through to themselves; those people needed the eyes to understand their flaws and their words to believe their inner changes. The wall that separated them from their victory lied in Yukari's condition.

"Yukari cannot see, nor can she speak… She won't be able to walk either…" Aigis said, struggling to find an answer to the problem as everyone else was, "There has to be a solution. There has to be!"

"Aigis…" Minato said to her, somewhat surprised at how human Aigis had become since the last time he had seen her. Even though this was one of the few times he had seen her like this, he could see that she was composing herself well.

Aigis sighed with a short exhale of breath and looked to Minato with a look of concern. "I apologise…" she said, seemingly hopeless, "… I am just worried for Yukari-san. If we don't find a way, her Shadow will keep tearing her away. I don't want her to keep suffering like this…" She looked round at everyone in the room as she said this, showing them an expression that suggested that they all knew what Yukari was going through. No one could argue with her; she herself had gone through the same tormenting experience, and she wouldn't wish that pain on anyone else. Not even Yukari – the one who she held such a close bond with since Minato went away.

Minato knew more than anyone else in the room that she wasn't the only one who was feeling this helpless about one of their closest friends. He saw Yukari in her bed, and just the sight of her quietly suffering inside was torture. Her look was completely blank, but he could just imagine the screams that were throwing chaos in every direction in her head. The constant noise, the crushing conflict of morals, the myriad screams of bloody murder; he could just visualise all of it. He may not know the existence of such Shadows all that well, but he knew what the main functions were. To seek and destroy; to expose the truth where it hurts.

He looked to everyone with an expression of silent determination. As he made a second glance at Yu, Minato realised that he had the same look on his face. They both thought back to the voice they heard only moments ago and suddenly felt a surge run deep in their bonds as they exchanged looks. It was a feeling that always spurred them on in situations such as this. It was the feeling of hope. Even without an answer to the problem, they both knew that there was only one place to go to find this solution. They weren't going to find it in the Tatsumi Hall's lounge just sitting on the sofas; that was for certain. Yu even saw Minato glance at the TV that stood in the glass partitioning and immediately knew that they were thinking the same thing.

"Yu," Minato called, lifting his head up higher as he spoke, "How is your chest?"

"Still bruised… but only slightly." Yu replied, sensing the same feeling of encouragement from the S.E.E.S leader.

This immediately caught the attention of Junpei, whose head shot up at the subliminal messages that they were sending to each other in casual chatter. His eyes widened, almost in surprise. "Wait, huh?" he said with a gawp, alternating his head between the two, "Am I getting the same idea here? You guys wanna…?"

"Are… are you both suggesting that we go back into the TV world?" Yukiko asked, clearly already having the obvious answer in her head. Some reacted with looks of surprise and shock, and some even saw it coming. In fact, they too would've had the same idea from the start.

Everyone in their groups looked to their leaders, waiting for a proper answer. The Investigation Team knew Yu very well, as did S.E.E.S to Minato; they were both straightforward people who could focus on a goal and work towards it by any means necessary. Once they would stick to it, and if nothing otherwise convincing were standing in the way of it, it would be hard to change their minds. That was their mark of leadership, and to show it, they looked towards Yukiko and nodded in unison.

"That's right." Minato replied, immediately looking to the people around him so that he could see their reactions. To his fortune, no one reacted harshly; if anything, everyone seemed very supportive of his and Yu's motion. However, other's felt doubtful, to which Yu and Minato had silently foreseen.

"But wouldn't you guys need a plan first?" Marie asked, "I mean, don't get me wrong, there's not a lot going for us at the moment… But shouldn't we think of something while we know what's going on in the TV world?"

It was a good point; Minato and Yu had considered it before, but saw that it was somewhat unnecessary to think like that. She said that there wasn't a lot of information to go by to make a proper plan, but in reality, there was literally nothing to go from. Marie spoke up again. "If there's one thing I know about Shadows, it's that they are unpredictable. That's always a bad thing if you don't prepare right." All they knew was that Yukari's Shadow was still in the TV somewhere and is feeding off Yukari's mind more and more. They didn't know whether it was still weak or getting stronger as a result of that. Even though Marie was right in some respect, what she said only backed up Minato and Yu's point; Shadows are unpredictable, and therefore makes planning almost impossible.

"A plan would be helpful at this point," Yu began to explain, "But there's not much we can do to plan. All we can do is go in and work out what to do; just like we've always done. In other words…"

"If at first you don't succeed, you find another angle," Akihiko said, cutting off Yu with a quote that he remembered from his policing lessons, "One of the golden rules of detective work."

All of a sudden, Minato and Yu could see everyone's expressions change. In almost an instant, the remaining doubt in the room had completely vanished. What Yu and Akihiko made perfect sense, and they only found it natural to agree with it, especially the Investigation Team and Marie. "We can't find a solution here… We'll have to find a way by doing." Minato said, reinforcing their argument even more.

Slowly but surely, everyone nodded, growing more confident in themselves the more they thought on their leaders' words. A pause filled the room, allowing enough time for everyone to exchange looks of returning determination. But soon enough, it was time to make a decision. "All right," Mitsuru said, breaking the silence, "Are we all agreed?"

They all nodded again, looking towards Mitsuru with a feeling of a much greater belief. And just like that, their path was set in stone. With a sudden fire in his belly, Junpei stood up from his seat and began stretching his arms. "All right! Time to get Yuka-tan back!" he shouted, filling the hallways with his usually loud war cry.

"Those hooded bastards have messed our friends around enough. Hopefully this will give them the hint when Yukari wakes up!" Kanji said, standing up as he spoke, and slamming his fist into his hand.

"Hehe. Could not have said it better, Kanji." Akihiko said with a chuckle, admiring the fact that he was thinking the same thing.

In no time at all, everyone was up on their feet. Just seeing every person standing for Yukari boosted the morale of the group tenfold, and the hope that Yu and Minato felt only moments ago was starting to grow. The harmony in their bonds was soothing to the senses. But despite this, one of those bonds was still striking a note of unhealthy discord. Yukari's bond.

Driven by this feeling, Minato stepped forward. "Let's get our stuff together then." he ordered, prompting everyone to the task at hand.

"Once we're ready, we'll meet at Mitsuru's room." Yu then said before everyone dispersed to their rooms to grab their equipment. He and Minato followed suit, but before Yu could even reach the stairs, he noticed Marie who was walking right behind him.

He quickly turned around when he remembered that he needed something from her. From the look on her face, she didn't seem very enthusiastic compared the faces of his teammates when they rushed up the staircase. "Oh, Marie," he called to her, somewhat sympathetic but immediately catching her attention, "… Could you look after Nanako again please? I'm sorry I have to keep asking but…"

"Yeah sure…" she replied bluntly, hardly even looking at him.

Yu could only look at Marie's expression of sorrow and frustration, and couldn't help but feel sadness towards how she was acting. He wanted to apologise, but Marie just looked as if she was far from listening, or even caring. But he knew why, and not just because of his relationship with Rise; because of everything that had gone on – Minato's return, Yukari's fall into the TV, everything – he could never have made the time to properly talk the issues out with her and Rise. Yu could see that Marie was being left out a lot, and it only made him guilty as a result.

"Okay…" Yu said, exhaling breath as he spoke, "… Thank you." Marie never responded; he suspected as much. He knew that there was nothing he could do to make her listen. All he could do was turn around and continue his ascent towards the boy's floor, leaving Minato standing on the first few steps with Marie standing still behind him.

All she wanted to do was to just stand there, hoping that her feelings could just make sense; maybe even let her just accept the situation she was put in. However, as her head was lowered with eyes closed, the silence of the lounge was all she needed to shut everything out. That was until Minato came back down the stairs.

"Are you okay?" Minato asked, hoping that he could console the only girl he was able to talk to ever since coming back from the other side. For the time he had met her, he always seen her as a loud, and somewhat easily tempered person. But even so, he had also seen a kinder and sensitive side to her, and to see her so silent and so lost was something he had never anticipated. The first time he saw her, she was hard as nails, but in that moment, something had changed drastically.

"… Minato…" she said quietly, remembering the tone of concern that came from her mystery friend, "… Just… don't get involved… please."

Minato was shocked to hear that response, and even Marie had felt somewhat guilty for shutting out the one friend she had whilst hanging out in the slums of Port Island Station. But he slowly caught on, and he could only hope for the best; he hadn't known her for too long to know the details, and it only pained him to know that it had to wait. He waited patiently until she was at the stop of the stairs and, with a low sigh, slowly followed suit.

* * *

><p><em>0810 - Afternoon - Minato's Room_

* * *

><p>Minato picked up his Evoker from the bedside table and turned it sideways to see the words 'S.E.E.S' engraved in the silver barrel. He fixated his eyes it with sentiment, remembering everything that he and the group did together all in one moment. He nodded silently and placed the Evoker in the hip of his holster. Then, he looked to his blade that leaned in the corner of the room and approached it with determination in his gut. He grabbed the handle, immediately remembering the feel of the grip, and as he lifted it up to brandish it, the weight of it suddenly became familiar to him.<p>

The thought of having to use either was something he didn't want to think about; not after the first time he had to use them against Yukari. He focused his thoughts on the moment he lost consciousness – when he had defeated the Shadow – and built up a scenario in his head where it was still immobile. There was already plan in his head; he didn't want any more violence, and with the Shadow now weakened, he could try to reason with it. Although he knew that the Shadow was rooted in Yukari, as the group had informed him, he felt that there had to be a chance at communicating with it himself. The group had told him of the subconscious phenomenon that the doctor had told them about. Knowing that close friends or relatives could reach out to unconscious people gave Minato some hope. He knew more than anyone else, however, that any kind of Shadow, whether they were mirror images of their hosts or darkness taking shape in ridiculous fashions, were unpredictable; anything could happen as soon as they return to the TV world's Yakushima beach.

He sheathed his sword into his holster and turned around to head for the bedroom door. But just as he was about to leave, he immediately caught sight of the mirror that stood at his side. He stared at it for a moment, not really recognising the person that looked back at him. It was definitely himself, but for so long, he had not seen what he looked like; for a whole two years, he had been just a floating radiant soul shackled against a door that kept away the immense power of Nyx – without any body or any other physical appearance.

He approached the mirror with only the dreary midday weather to illuminate his face, and immediately saw a difference. His dark-blue hair was slightly longer at the sides and back, and his skin complexion was a little paler than usual; probably due to the lack of blood running through his veins for a couple of years. From the look of his face, he was tried and possibly deprived of sleep, and there were a few dirt marks from when he was sitting down with Marie at the underbelly of the Tatsumi Port Island station. But the main thing he noticed was that he looked older – much like a proper adult – and this, along with everything else, slightly scared him at first. However, he quickly adjusted to it, and he even began to admire seeing his own reflection again.

"Even I've changed…" Minato said to himself, turning his face from side to side to get a better look of his new image. After noticing a few other things, he eventually decided that he needed to focus on the task at hand and began to turn away from the mirror. But before he could head for the door, something else caught his eye in the reflection.

Just hovering above his shoulder was something of a murky yellow colour, and it floated in the air as if it were some kind of velvet or scarf. Minato gasped as he saw it and quickly turned around frantically to see what was behind him.

But there was nothing there; nothing but the walls and furniture. He turned back to the mirror and noticed that it wasn't there either. After alternating between the two for a while, he soon gave up, left confused as to what he had just seen, or believed to have seen. Minato made one last look around the room before sighing in denial; he shook his head as if he felt that he was going mad.

"Focus…" he said again to himself, closing his eyes for a moment to centre his thoughts. Feeling ready, he nodded his head and quickly headed out of the room. As he shut the door behind him, he quickly made his way to Yukari's room, hoping that the others would be there already. There was one last interrupting thought that he might've seen something before eventually shrugging it off again, not looking back on it the moment he did.

* * *

><p><em>0810 - Afternoon - Yukari's Room_

* * *

><p>Much to his surprise, no one had even set foot into Yukari's room yet. However, this didn't bother him. In fact, he would've preferred for everyone to take as much time to prepare as possible; he would've had some time to comfort Yukari, even if she wouldn't notice it. The room was as quiet as ever, and even the rumbling of his thoughts were put to rest as soon as he stepped in.<p>

He sat down in the same chair and took a moment to think about what will happen. The plan was simple in his mind, but he knew it wouldn't be so. He knew that they had to bring Yukari with them into the TV world, not just because they would've been dealing with a Shadow separate to them, but also because she herself needed to hear the words come from those who were physically around her, including Minato.

Thoughts were constantly streaming into Minato's head – all of them worrisome. What would Yukari think to hear her dead lover calling out to her again? What if she were to mistake him for a dream again?

What happened if she woke up to finally see him?

Minato's head jolted up in shock to that question, and it only worried him more. However, he thought on it hard and focused on re-evaluating who Yukari was to him. He remembered so fondly that she was very caring of those close to her, even when there was a harder outer layer to her personality. She would get so upset if anything happened to him, and over the last week, he knew that this was evident. But there was one thing about her that was reassuring for him.

Even if things were sprung up on her so quickly, and even though she would shout the heavens if her shock was so great, it was one quality of her he knew best. She was understanding. It may have been because they had so much in common with one another, be it the loss of others or the fierceness to keep other close people safe, but it was almost as if she could see inside him. He wondered how something as big as this would seem to her; half of him knew her understanding nature, and half reminded him of the magnitude of his return.

Despite all of this though, he wished for nothing more than to see her open her eyes as the grown-up, beautiful lady that she had become. That was the one thing he missed the most, and he could only imagine what she would look like if she were awake.

He took his hands out of his pockets and reached over to Yukari's hand, one on top and one on the palm, as if he was protecting her from something. Even though he knew that she was going through one of her toughest battles with herself, he at least wanted to give some sign of comfort to her, no matter how little she would notice it.

"Hang on, Yukari," he softly said to her, rubbing his thumb against the back of her hand, "We'll make this right. I promise." As soon as he stopped whispering, the room became completely silent once again. But it didn't take long for a sudden creak of the bedroom door to alert Minato to the entrance.

As the door slowly opened, he saw Yu step into the room, somewhat surprised as he was when he saw the room. "Oh, Minato," he said, leaving the door slightly ajar, "Is no one here?"

"It's just me at the moment." Minato replied. He looked behind Yu to see if anyone was coming down the corridor, but all he saw was the wallpaper.

"Ah… so you were expecting the others? Then again, I was hoping you'd be in here…" Yu explained, finding a nearby desk stool and sitting on the opposite side of Yukari's bed. At first, Minato was a bit confused by what he was trying to get at, and it showed in his expression.

"Why's that?" he asked briefly.

"Well it's…" Yu said in hesitation, already feeling somewhat guilty about what he was going to ask. He took a moment to breathe before eventually getting to the crux. "… How… would you feel about bringing Yukari with us into the TV? I know it's a crazy thought and I totally understand if—"

"No, it's all right. I had the same idea." Minato quickly said before Yu could say any more. For just a moment, there was a silence in the room, but Yu's surprised expression could speak louder than anything. There was a pause for thought before he could say anything else.

"Oh…" he said, having to blink twice as if he was still reeling from Minato's response, "Are you sure you're okay with that? I mean… her Shadow is still in the TV after all…"

Of course, Minato and Yu could see eye to eye with the situation they were faced with. Yu, however, didn't want this as a forced decision on Minato and went through a whole list of reasons why letting Yukari stay in the dorm would be a safer decision, even though he himself was still set on the original plan. But he could see the determined look in Minato's eyes that suggested that he was also thinking the same thing.

"I know all that…" Minato said, confident in the one fact of Yukari's Shadow that would give the team an advantage. He looked back at the sleeping Yukari and continued to brush his thumb against her pale skin. "… But I'm the main target. As long as I'm with her, the Shadow would only want to torture me… unless I…_ we_ can get through to her. If what the doctor said is true, then as long as we're there for her, the Shadow can be reasoned with."

Yu could see that Minato was totally set on his decision; every risk and every danger he pointed out didn't faze him, and even though he had accessed the situation, he also felt that it was the right plan of action. He could even see it in Minato's eyes from the way he looked at Yukari that he would protect her from anything until she could open her eyes; he was capable, and knowing that made Yu feel confident in their plan.

"I can't argue with you there," Yu said in agreement, grinning with the corner of his lip, "Just be on your guard though. There's no way of knowing what will happen once we're in the TV."

"Of course." Minato replied, looking back at Yu with confidence in his new cohort. They both looked at each other with the same small grin of trust, and in that moment, it was like they were seeing into one another. It was like looking at the same person, and when they tried to think why, it became apparent that they both had so much in common. They both cared deeply for their friends, and their safety was always their primary concern. They each had their minute differences, but it was like they simply came from the same consciousness or shared the same mind. Yu even thought back to what Yukari said to him about being similar to Minato, and looking into the bond that they had both created only moments ago, he could finally see what she was talking about.

The pause ended when Yu realised that no one had stepped into the room yet. He snapped out of his thoughts and briefly looked round the door, but before he could conclude that no one was coming, Akihiko suddenly emerged from the staircase.

He quickly walked down the hallway and began to approach Yukari's room when he immediately saw Yu and Minato on the other side of the door. Yu used a foot to draw it open for Akihiko, and as he came in, he and Minato could see that he was already well equipped for the journey ahead. "I was hoping you guys would be here. I'm guessing you had the same idea?" he asked, entering the conversation as if he had read their minds.

"Yeah." they replied in unison. Akihiko nodded in agreement and took a couple more steps into the room as if he had news.

"All right then. Everyone's waiting in Mitsuru's room now if you guys are ready." he said, prompting them both to their feet quicker than he could blink.

Being the most physically built-up person on the team, Akihiko offered to carry Yukari up to the next floor. But before he could even approach her bed, an ear-piercing noise suddenly filled the entirety of the room. They looked to each other, hoping that they weren't the only ones who heard it, and immediately knew what the sound was.

"Oh no…" they said together.

It was the familiar white noise that could only come from a TV, and as they darted their eyes towards the TV set that stood on a chest of drawers, they immediately knew what was coming. The screen on the TV turned into a flurry of white zigzags and digital madness, and the ghastly green colour that emanated from it was flashing on and off, morphing and contorting into all kinds of manic shapes.

"What?!" Akihiko asked in shock, giving a very unnerving look when he knew that something was out of place, "The Midnight Channel? At this time of day?".

This wasn't anything new to Yu though. "It's happened before… But why now?" he asked himself. He could only ever recall one other moment when the Midnight Channel broadcasted at another point in the day and that was during the string of murders that happened in Inaba with Namatame trying to 'save' those who were in danger. If that happened then, then it could happen at anytime, and although it was discomforting to see it much earlier in the afternoon, it mattered not why it decided to broadcast then. The real concern lied in what it was going to show.

All of a sudden, the three could hear a moaning sound coming from the bed, and when they immediately turned their attention to it, the first thing they saw was Yukari squirming around.

"Yukari…? Wh… Yukari!" Minato whispered to himself, filling his heart with worry. He knelt down to her bedside and watched as she thrashed around in her sleep, as if she was writhing in pain. She groaned with every wince, and she started to breath more heavily, gasping for air at times. Shocked into action, Yu then came to Yukari's side.

"Huh…?!" Yu cried out, quickly reaching into his pocket for his mobile phone, "We need to call the doctor in…!"

"No, wait!" Akihiko shouted, gesturing for Yu to put the phone down.

At first, Yu and Minato gave a surprised look at him, totally disagreeing with his plea. But as soon as they saw him looking back towards the TV, they decided to do the same, and it didn't take long for them to know why he had to step in.

The screen had gone from a mess of noisy disarray to a slightly less chaotic moving image that played out vividly on the channel. On the TV showed only two people – one boy, one girl – and upon closer inspection, they realised that it was Minato and Yukari. The scenes kept flicking from one scenario to the other; one scene would show them walking outside in the sun with Minato carrying a guitar bag on his back, and the next would Yukari lying in bed, waking up to a fully clothed Minato who had his back turned to her. There were moments of happiness and euphoria, and then moments of sadness and hurt. It only took a moment for Yu to realise what was going on, and for Minato it only took a short few seconds.

"Wait, I remember this…" Yu said, squinting through the haze of the white noise to try and make out the images, "… Yukari told me about this… Is this… her dream?"

Yu looked over to Minato and he instantly saw the brokenhearted expression on his face. For him, it was like re-watching a film of their fictional lives over and over, and it made the situation a lot more real when he saw Yukari suffering as a result. He and Yu put the pieces together and realised that these were Yukari's current thoughts being broadcasted, and after a while, they could see tears forming from underneath the blindfold.

"The Midnight Channel reflects the thoughts of others, right?" Akihiko asked, somewhat rhetorically so that he could keep his mind on track, "Then this really is her dream. Man… seeing it for real is just…"

He couldn't find the words for it. Even so, he didn't need to say anything else; just seeing Yukari's dream come to life spoke for itself. They could compare it to looking at an old photo album containing pictures of the ones they held closest – images that were preserved in one single moment in time – but for Yukari, it was the same fictional moments being played out constantly in her mind, as if her entire memory was playing on an endless loop.

"_Our_ dream…" Minato suddenly spoke up, "… I remember that dream. Everything I'm seeing now – I remember it…"

At first, Yu and Akihiko could only look surprised at what Minato was saying. They couldn't think if he was either telling the truth or if he was saying these things out of the emotion that he might've felt in that moment of panic. But Yu immediately thought back to the words that Yukari's illusion of Minato said to her on the Midnight Channel before she was lured in, and could remember the first thing that it uttered.

"'This is no ordinary dream. We both dreamt this.'" Yu said to himself, reminding himself, as well as the others around him, of what the illusion said, "That's what you… that spirit of you said on the Midnight Channel last night… Does that mean that you both did actually experience the same dream?"

"Yes…" Minato replied, looking back to Yu with a saddened look, "… And those were my exact words to her before she woke up."

"It would be no surprise if the culprits were the ones who created a false entity of you to say that to Yukari as well. That much is apparent now…" Akihiko said, folding his arms in thought, "… And to tell you the truth… I also wouldn't be surprised if this wasn't the first time the Midnight Channel was broadcasting this…"

In that moment, Akihiko had dropped a large bombshell. There was no way of knowing if she really did see her dream being shown on the TV more than once, but they couldn't have known if she hadn't either. Nevertheless, it was plausible. But then Yu thought back even further to when Yukari first told him about the dream and immediately remembered something else – something that would confirm Akihiko's theory.

He made a gasp, and instantly caught Minato and Akihiko's attention. "Of course…" he said, almost in a whisper as if he had been clueless for the entirety of the investigation"… Yukari once told me that she had been dreaming the same thing for the last few nights only recently. So that's why the dream was becoming so frequent…! It wasn't a natural occurrence… It was the Midnight Channel all this time…"

"That would've been the perfect ammunition for the culprits as well… Being so exposed to that dream would've made her Shadow more likely to appear," Akihiko explained briefly, condensing everything they knew so far to make sense of the situation, "This dream had played a bigger part than we thought… but where did the dream come from in the first place if it wasn't like a normal dream?"

Yu had wondered that for a long time, but could never get an answer; not from Yukari, nor anyone else. Not even a dream specialist would've had an easy task to translate it all. But they then looked to Minato in the hopes that he could provide an answer. He looked to each of them and could only shake his head in response.

"I don't know," he replied, lowering his head as he thought hard to try and find a better answer, "I certainly never caused it, if that's what you're thinking. I have no idea though. I would say that it was the result of our bond, but… even that couldn't be explained."

Although Minato had desperately tried to make sense of what was happening at that time as a soul guarding the world from an incomprehensible destruction, there was nothing to be said, and Yu and Akihiko could see that what he was saying was genuine. They nodded in understanding, and with a pause looming in the air, they could only watch the Midnight Channel, hoping that something might change.

Suddenly, the bedroom door quickly swung open, almost hitting Akihiko if it weren't for his quick reaction. Yosuke, Fuuka, Ken and Koromaru were the ones who then ran in afterwards, panicking as they looked round to the three. Koromaru barked away, trying to get the attention of the others. "Ahh, we found you guys!" Yosuke cried out, "The Midnight Channel–!"

Before he could explain their situation, he immediately saw the TV in the corner of his eye. Upon seeing it, he and the others slowly calmed down and looked round to the others with looks of concern, especially when they saw Yukari squirming softly in her bed. "What's happening? Is Yukari okay?" Ken asked, emerging from Yosuke's side and rushing to the foot-end of the mattress.

Akihiko slowly came to his side and placed a gentle hand on his shoulder. "I think it's best that we all regroup at Mitsuru's. We'll talk more there." he proposed, moving out of the way of the door and returning to the side of the bed, ready to lift up Yukari. With everyone in agreement, they all began to head out of the room and towards the second floor.

That was until the Midnight Channel had one more surprise in store.

With a sharp crackle and a howl of high frequencies, the TV began to flash and flicker in random directions, throwing polygons from one side of the screen to the next. The scenes of Minato and Yukari slowly melted into the murky green backdrop until all was completely covered in white noise.

"Huh?! What's happening?" Fuuka asked in a worrisome state. All of a sudden, the chaos turned into a continuous stream of black, white and green, but even so, Yukari's was still thrashing about in her unconsciousness; still moaning in pain and still showing no sign of stopping. Everyone watched closely at both her and the TV, hoping that nothing would cause any sudden reactions. They were soon about to find out.

After a while of nothing but static, a loud zap of the monitor caused the screen to flash violently before suddenly standing still on a moving image of Yukari looking towards the screen. But it was, of course, her Shadow who was staring directly at everyone before looking from side to side.

"_Minato…?" _the Shadow called out in a choked-up tone, looking around in different directions with sore, teary eyes that lost their golden tint slightly, _"… Minato…? Where are you…? Minato… Are you there?"_

As the Shadow continued to call out Minato's name, everyone looked back to the Yukari in the bed and noticed that she had stopped moving around and began to breathe more steadily. But they could see a continuous stream of tears flowing down both sides of her face, and they seemed to correspond with the way they were flowing down the Shadow's face.

It was a haunting image, and for Minato, it was all the more crushing. Just hearing the Shadow's dissonant dual tone, coupled with the frayed TV speakers, crying out to him made him feel somewhat sick, and his heart felt like it was creeping into his throat.

"Oh God…" Yu whispered, watching as Minato stood up and approached the TV with shock in his eyes, "… Minato, I…"

There were no words though; everything seemed so out of proportion that it rendered everyone speechless. All they could do was keep the image in front of them as a living memory that would probably never leave their minds for a long time; Koromaru even whimpered for a while at the sight of it. Minato stood in front of the TV, fixing his eyes on a tragically lost Yukari made out of everything she didn't want to show. He listened as she continued to call out to him with a look that desired guidance, and he watched as her head kept turning, hoping for a sign of life in a world where she was literally suffering in silence. She even resorted to biting her nails once or twice, but for most of the time, the Shadow resorted to holding her arms; the only comfort she ever had.

"_Minato…? Please… answer me…" _the Shadow called out again, gasping as she sobbed, _"Minato… Minato...! Pl… Please…"_

"Minato?" Yu then called out, hoping to get his attention. Strangely, it was the very thing Minato needed to snap him out of stagnation. With a long inhale through his nose, Minato slowly turned back around, trying to block out the Shadow's voice and focusing his full attention on everyone else in front of him.

"Let's regroup at Mitsuru's room now," he said, determined and with the goal as clear as day, "Yukari's suffered enough."

* * *

><p><em>0810 - Afternoon - TV World_

* * *

><p>The whole team, now together, all gathered on the platform overlooking the TV world and the menacing fog that cloaked its entirety. The sickly green aura that surrounded them still reeked of that same dingy aroma, and just being in its presence almost made them feel more tired than when they woke up this morning.<p>

All who were present in Yukari's room explained what happened to the rest of the group, receiving the same shocked looks in the same consecutive order as they did. The same questions were asked, all of which were either easily answered or never answered at all. From what they had said to them, they also saw the broadcast from Mitsuru's room, but never had any clue about what it meant, even though they knew that it had something to do with Yukari. But this was all new information on the dream; crucial information that could now help them understand the nature of it.

"But… the dream had to come from somewhere, right? Hear me out," Chie asked, gesturing that she had her own ideas in mind, "Everything up until now was caused by those hooded culprits. Think about it – a dream about a fake Minato with other fake people in a fake world… Doesn't that sound familiar?"

"Well yeah, but surely all dreams are like that…" Kanji said, saying it as if it was an obvious fact, which everyone knew it was. Naoto also thought the same thing, but her detective instincts delved into the matter further.

"That is true. However, the frequency of her dream is questionable, and it would make sense if it were down to the Midnight Channel. That would explain her restlessness and lack of sleep since," she explained, fitting the pieces together for the other half of the group who weren't with Yukari, "Furthermore, I could never recall a moment when Yukari reported this to us, but that it's probably unlikely that she would've kept it a secret."

Naoto felt that there was more to say, but before she could even open her mouth, Teddie made a huge gasp from the inside of his bear costume, attracting the attention of everyone else. "What?!" he cried out, "You don't mean to say that she just forgot every time she watched it!"

For a moment, they just thought that Teddie was being his usual overdramatic self and spouting out any nonsense that he thought was right. However, at a second glance, they began to see what he was trying to get at, but before any of them could get to it, Naoto proceeded to explain it the best she could.

"That's exactly what I'm saying," she began, taking a moment to phrase the words in her head, "Remember when Mitsuru and the others were lured into the TV? Not one of them could remember it happening. This must've happened with Yukari… and it must've been affecting her subconsciously as a result."

No one could've put it any better; even Yu had to think on the many times he told her to be strong, hoping that she could overcome her emotion. But he could finally see the reality of how excruciatingly hard it would've been for her to have seen that dream every night, haunting her before she could even sleep. The dream was out of the ordinary to begin with, but he, nor anyone else, knew that it was caused by something they would regularly see in front of them. As a result, Yu could only feel guilty for not realising it. Mitsuru saw the expression on his face and immediately noticed that it began to spread amongst the group; team morale was needed in such desperate times.

"It's hugely frustrating that we hadn't noticed this before…" she began, catching the attention of as many people as she could, "… But right now, let's focus on the task at hand. As long as this Shadow exists, Yukari will never recover; the sooner we find her, the better." Everyone looked to each other before nodding to her, as if confirming the state of their team spirit before bringing back confidence in themselves.

Yu turned to Rise and Fuuka, who had already put their Evokers away. "We already had a look around," Rise said, joining the group circle, "The Shadow is in the same place as it was before… and just as we hoped, it's doesn't seem to be moving."

"Ahh, that's good news," Junpei said as he breathed a sigh of relief, "We shouldn't have too much of a problem then."

"We'll have to be on our guard though. Shadows act on instinct; there's no telling what will happen once we get there." Aigis pointed out, reminding everyone of what they were up against. And she was right; Shadows of this kind are stubborn, and staying relaxed based on the knowledge that it wasn't moving could be a fatal move. Everyone knew this though, and from the amount of weapons and Evokers that were present, this was evident.

"All right, let's not waste any more time. Is everyone ready?" Yu then said, turning his body slightly to indicate their leave.

"Wait," Minato spoke up, looking towards everyone with squinted eyes, "I can't see all that well…" All of a sudden and all at once, everyone eventually noticed that Minato wasn't wearing any Teddie glasses. All he could do was look round while rubbing his eyes, trying to make out the faces in the fog.

"Oh! I'm completely forgot!" Teddie cried out, somewhat in excitement as he pulled out a fresh pair of glasses from the inside pockets of his costume. He approached Minato, and jogged slightly as he did. Minato just followed the cute sound of small footsteps coming towards him, and when they stopped in front of him, he held out his arms in front of him blindly to grab the glasses.

He could feel specs being placed in his hands and he felt the frame for a bit to see if he was holding it up the right way. He brought them right in front of his face to get a better look and noticed the wayfarer design along with the dark navy colours that it donned. The lens was so clear that he could see his own reflection, even in the fog.

He turned them around and eventually put them on. Immediately, there was a massive improvement to his sight; he could only see as far as the platform would go, but he saw everyone else in front of him as clear as day. He blinked a few times at the huge difference the glasses made and, with a surprised expression, looked back at Teddie.

"That's much better," he said in gratitude to Teddie, "Thanks."

"No problem! Anything for my new blue-haired friend!" the bear replied with a wide smile, "Hey, you know what? I'll give you a nickname!"

Teddie was always one for blurting out something that would excite him, especially when it came to calling other people by a more simplified name. Minato wasn't all that bothered about being called something else by a guy in a bear costume, but it was all quite a bit sudden. "Err…" he said, caught off guard by Teddie's elaborate gestures. "What should I call you now?" Teddie mumbled to himself, using a claw to scratch his chin, "Ooh! I know… I'll call you Mina-san!"

"You stupid bear… This isn't even the time or the place for this!" Yosuke shouted, yanking Teddie away from Minato before he could bother him any more. Although it was kind of inappropriate to him at the time, Minato could help but admire Teddie's enthusiasm at this point; he's already voiced his concern for Yukari, but that didn't stop him from giving some positivity to their operation. Some couldn't help but chuckle at Teddie's usual antics, even if they did think that it was unnecessary.

Minato looked towards Yukari who was now in Akihiko's arms and wondered if she would've laughed with them; in his head, she would've let out a giggle, and just hearing that voice in his head gave him some much-needed motivation. He wanted to hear that laugh again, and more so just to see a smile on her face.

With that goal at the forefront of his mind, he turned to the path with Yu. "We should go," he ordered, getting a few nods before turning back to Teddie, "And Mina-san's not so bad."

Saying that almost looked like it meant the world to Teddie. With another huge grin on his costume's face, the bear waved elaborately at him; Yosuke and a few others could only roll their eyes, grinning as they did.

* * *

><p><em>0810 - Afternoon - TV World - Magatsu Yakushima_

* * *

><p>They knew exactly where they were going, and with every step they took towards the tarnished, corrupted beach, they knew that they were one step closer to finding out if Yukari was about to face and accept her true self or be lost, possibly forever, to her own darkness. Everyone was quiet for the whole trek, but no one wanted to say anything; they only wanted to focus on getting their best friend back, and by any means necessary.<p>

When they reached the 'Magatsu Yakushima', they instantly remembered the condition of the sand before they came here for the first time; although it was green and dull in colour, it was pristine, unspoiled and completely smooth. But now, the sand was in dunes, thrown about in places and unleveled from the battle that ensued the night before. However, that didn't compare to what waited for them in the centre of the island. The many gasps only magnified what was straight in front of them.

"Oh my goodness…" Yukiko whispered, summing up the shock that everyone felt upon seeing it.

A gaping hole, much like a crater, was situated in the middle of the coast, and the more they approached it, the bigger it was becoming to them. The attack that Minato made on the Shadow before he lost consciousness was unbelievable enough, but seeing the result of the environment afterwards was mind-blowing. They could see the sand on the lip of the hole circulating around its perimeter, as if there was a weak vortex hopelessly trying to protect was it was containing inside. They noticed that the breeze had a spring-green tint to it, and it suggested a lot that the wind was, in fact, caused by some kind of Garu spell. Of course, this would only be a sign of what they were about to face.

As they all gathered at the mouth, they looked down into the crater further. The sand gently fell down what was a slightly steep hill, and instead of it all gathering at the bottom, it all seemed to sink into the ground. But as they followed the trail of sand, they eventually found the very thing they came for right at the very heart of the sinkhole, laying broken in the sand and sobbing as it struggled to get up to its elbows.

It was Yukari's Shadow.

"There she is…" Minato said, notifying the others of their destination.

Although he had only said it quietly, the Shadow suddenly gasped, loud enough so that everyone could hear it. As it continued to sob, it began to lift itself up as if it had heard him. Everyone immediately took notice and took a step back as a precaution, even though the Shadow was struggling to even lift its head up.

"Minato…? Is that you…?" the Shadow spoke, echoing up the hole even though its voice was weak, "… Are you there…?" It was clear that the Shadow was still very weak from the previous battle, and that seemed to the entire group that it would be quite safe.

"Let's go." Yu ordered as he and Minato took their first steps into the crater.

But as soon as they put one foot into the hill, the Shadow immediately threw its head up with eyes that stared cold and angrily into Yu and Minato's. The sight of it caused everyone to stop in their tracks, and some even took a few steps back before something would happen. Eventually, the Shadow made its move.

"NO!" the Shadow screamed, screeching up to them like the banshee it once was. As it continued to cry out, a swirling green whirlwind began to kick up around the sand, and before anyone could react, the gales suddenly swooped up the sides of the crater, hurtling towards the group as it pierced through the walls.

Reacting as quickly as they could, Yu and Minato quickly stepped back and pushed everyone away from the side. The Shadow's hurricane suddenly whipped up from behind them, and they could feel the force it, not just on their clothes, but on their skin as well. If they were any closer, they would've been launched into the air, possibly doing some colossal in the process.

"Is everyone all right?" Yu called out to the two leaders looked around them, hoping that they managed to move every single person out of the way of the blast, and fortunately, after a quick headcount, they did.

"I want Minato…! No one else…!" the Shadow yelled, wincing as it struggled to move its limbs, "I won't hesitate... to kill anyone else who comes down…! I only want Minato! Anyone else and they DIE!"

It was quite rich coming from a Shadow who was only moments away from being completely broken, but as long as Yukari was still in a stalemate with the Shadow, it would still be capable of harming someone, even to the point of death. It was the unique and unpredictable nature that Shadows had, and this Shadow was no exception. Nevertheless, the group was faced with a difficult obstacle. Minato, however, didn't feel that way; he knew that the only way now was to go alone.

"Man… What do we do now?" Ken asked from the back of the group, watching as everyone just started into the hole wondering what to do next. Minato was the only one who even moved; he had a ludicrous idea and he was more than willing to take the risk. He walked over to Akihiko and held out his arms, ready to hold Yukari.

"I'll take it from here, Akihiko." he said, tucking his arms under Yukari's legs and back.

"Huh? You're going to go it alone?" Akihiko asked, somewhat surprised by the short space of time it took for Minato to make that decision. He handed Yukari over to him voluntarily, but he was as concerned as the rest of the team was.

"There's no other way," Minato replied in his usual nonchalant way, reminded everyone of the truth of the situation.

All the members of S.E.E.S knew that when he's absurdly blunt in a threatening situation like this, he was deadly serious about putting his life on the line, especially when it meant going by himself. He was always like that; reckless, uncaring about his own safety when other's lives are concerned, and never giving a second thought once he's put a stake on his life. But even so, he could carry on as if it wasn't that much of a big deal. Even though S.E.E.S had seen him do something like this countless of times before, seeing him doing something as daring as this made them very nervous; the Investigation Team were all the more shocked at what he was doing.

Without looking at anyone, Minato casually made his way back to the edge of the crater. "Don't follow me." he briefly said before stepping forward into the hole with Yukari held tightly in his arms.

"Minato, don't—!" Yu cried out as he tried to grab his shoulder, using his other hand to hold the pain in his ribs. But he was too late; Minato was already surfing down the sand walls and he didn't even take a moment to look back at the team. He made sure not to fall down the hole with him; the last thing he wanted was to mess up Minato's chance of confronting the Shadow, but even so, just seeing him go by himself rattled his nerves along with everybody else's.

Junpei breathed a sigh of nervousness. "… Well, he's still an idiot…" he said sarcastically, scratching the side of his head when he felt a drip of sweat trickle down his hair.

From that point on, everything was down to Minato; the fate of Yukari, his one love who he had everything in common with, was now entirely in his hands. He knew there was no room for error and any slip-ups at this point would be fatal, not just to Yukari, but to him and everyone else as well if he wasn't careful. The odds could've gone either way; the Shadow was too unpredictable to make any calling on what will happen, but everything was down to rational reasoning. He had to get through to Yukari. He won't take anything other than the Shadow's ultimate defeat.

He eventually made his way to the bottom of the crater, adjusting his hold on Yukari as soon as he knelt down to absorb the impact of the fall. Then, when he was ready, he made his way slowly towards the Shadow. He watched carefully as it propped its head up, and upon seeing him, it gasped. The Shadow grew a grin on its face – one that Minato felt really uncomfortable looking at; it was contorted into a shape that made it seem that she was indeed somewhat happy, but it suggested insanity more than anything. He dispelled his fear as best he could before eventually laying Yukari down in front of it and crouching down with her. One hand supported her head and the other supported her back, holding her in a protective stance.

For a long fearful moment, Minato and Yukari's Shadow looked at one another; he looked into those golden eyes showing so many mixed feelings. There was happy, and then there was devastation. It was like looking at two sides of the same coin at one time, and that scared him a bit.

The Shadow's grin went away, only for it to follow with more sobbing. All he could do was wait for it to say something, and for a long moment, all it wanted to do was just stare at him. Eventually though, there was movement. The Shadow struggled once more to lift up its body, and with great pain, it managed to get up to its knees. It shuffled over to him slightly before bringing up both hands so that she could cup his face in her hands.

"Minato…? I… Is that you…?" the Shadow asked again, as if it were a broken record. She repeated herself at least a couple of times before Minato began to feel really uncomfortable with it touching him. Its palms were freezing to touch, and after a while, his face was going numb. To make things even more disconcerting, the Shadow began to run its hands down to his neck, rubbing its thumbs against his skin as she admired him.

"… Is it really you…?" she asked again, looking as if she was familiar with the skin she was feeling. Enduring the frozen touch as best as he could, he felt that it was the right moment to say something.

"Yes, Yukari… It's me…" he said softly, watching as the Shadow's hands remove themselves from his body so that they could wipe away the incoming tears from its eyes.

"R-Really…?" it asked again, as if it couldn't believe it, "… P-Please… don't leave… Stay here with me…"

Her hands then suddenly came down on the arm that held onto the real Yukari, and Minato immediately felt the tension in her grasp. He could see that the Yukari he was seeing now, animated as a Shadow, was beyond desperate; Minato had become her lifeline, and if he were to brush the Shadow's hands away now, catastrophic effects would've taken place. He couldn't imagine what it would do to them here and now. He had to think carefully of what to say.

"Yukari…" he said, looking into the Shadow's eyes as if he were looking into the real Yukari, "… You can't think of me this way – you just can't… It's destroying you inside, and I can't bear to see that… In fact, I can see it now, right in front of me… and it breaks my heart…"

He paused for thought, hoping that speaking the truth – speaking from the heart – was getting through to her. He knew that other words wouldn't have worked; she needed to know what was going on inside him, and she needed to know what was becoming of her. He retracted his hand from her back and reached over to Yukari's cheek, feeling the hand tremble as he gently felt her skin.

"It really breaks my heart…" he continued, feeling his throat being choked, "… I remember the Yukari I became friends with all those years ago… She was caring, independent… the strongest girl I've ever met… And then we fell in love; she wanted me to meet her mother – something she thought she'd never do if it wasn't for her unbelievable strength and resolve… But where did she go…? I wonder if you could tell me that… Where's that girl who valued life so much and never looked back…? You know what? I reckon you know where she is… I'll be damned if you don't…"

As he finished his say, he watched for a reaction from the Shadow with watery vision, feeling the teardrops forming in the corners of his eyes. After listening to everything that he had to say, the Shadow just stared at him for a moment, almost dumbfounded by his words. Its face wrenched and twisted as if it was about to let out a huge wave of tears. But as it looked down, it never made a sound, as if the shock had been enough to silence it completely.

There was a silence between them both, and the way that the Shadow hardly moved after that made Minato quite unsettled. He watched closely for any sudden movements, and as the Shadow began to twitch slightly, he subtly shifted his arms into a shielded embrace around Yukari. The stillness of the moment continued on, and it even began to frustrate Minato that nothing was happening.

Eventually, the silence was broken, and he could then hear a low humming noise emanating from the Shadow, which then coincided with its slow change in appearance. Its body began to fuzz and flicker like TV static, and the more the white noise took over, the more that the dark pixels were breaking away from it, evaporating as it flew away. As a result of this, the Shadow groaned in pain, as if it were being drained of all its power; it even struggled to even stay on its knees.

Then, all of a sudden, the Shadow grabbed Minato's arm violently, clenching it in its hand with a rapid tremble. Minato immediately reacted to the pain he was then enduring; the tightness in the grip coupled with its blisteringly cold flesh was enough to make hi cry out in pain. To make matters worse, the only free hand he had was the furthest away from his Evoker. He knew he wouldn't be able to reach it, which made the situation instantly fatal.

"I won't let you leave…" the Shadow said in a low tone, snapping its head up to Minato with eyes that showed a mix of desperation and anger, "… Don't leave me!"

There was a sudden rumbling sound coming from all around him, and as he lifted his head to see it, he immediately turned his attention to the sand walls. The light spring-green breeze that he was welcomed with began to pick up force, and as it gotten stronger, the vortex it became quickly rushed down into the crater, surrounding him, Yukari and the Shadow. The hurricanes then began to kick up the sand around them, causing the walls to start collapsing on them.

As this happened, everyone outside the hole was looking in, shocked at what they were seeing. Yu was the one who had the best view of what was happening, and upon squinting his eyes, he was beginning to see sand slowly building up around the centre where Minato and Yukari were. The levels were rising, and by the time that the sand was up to Minato's waist, they all knew that they were in big trouble.

"No, Minato!" Yu cried out as the rest of the team gasped behind him. Without even thinking about it, he immediately jumped down into the crater, running and sliding down the hill as quick as he could. Everyone else followed suit, and some even brought out their weapons as soon as they jumped in after Yu.

The more they kept running, the bigger the crater was becoming due to the force of the vortex breaking down the walls. This only slowed them down and it even set some of the group back because of the rapid rate in which the sand was collapsing. But as soon as they got to the bottom, it was a race to save Minato and Yukari from the Shadow's suffocating attack.

"Ahh, c'mon!" Yu yelled to himself, struggling to co-ordinate his feet around the dry sand dunes. As he ran, he could feel the sand rolling into his heels, and it only made him think that he was running out of time. However, when he looked towards Minato and Yukari again, he knew that time was not on his side.

Yukari had already been completely buried in sand, but Minato and the Shadow were still staring each other down with the sand now coming up to their chins. In no time at all though, the sand then came up above their mouths and eventually their eyes.

Before Yu or anyone could even get close to them, the three were completely buried, and to drown the spirits even more, the sand just kept falling into the crater. At this point, everyone was becoming out of breath, and just seeing their friends being buried alive almost made their hearts give way. They kept sprinting, hoping that they could try to get them back up to the surface somehow, but in their heads, they've been at it for the longest while, and all they could feel was despair.

There was no sign of any of them coming back up; at this point in time, it just seemed impossible. In reality, it was tens of seconds, but in their minds, it was like tens of minutes. With every second going by, it was a second they were underground, suffocating until their very last breath. But then, just when all hope was diminishing, something of a miracle came into play.

All of a sudden, a large burst of wind, a spell everyone knew well as Garudyne, erupted from where the three were situation. The sand that buried them were blown away from the centre, and the attack was so great that it managed to send Yu and the others flying. They landed flat on their backs with a large wave of sand falling softly on them upon impact, and for the whole of that time, they could only feel surprised. They then saw the sand walls and noticed that there was no more collapsing which immediately gave them the hope they needed.

Everyone looked back to the centre and they all breathed a massive sigh of relief. _"Thank god…"_ Yu thought to himself, catching his breath as he brushed himself off. Minato and Yukari were back above the surface, and with them was Isis – Yukari's Persona – hovering above them with a radiant light that shone brightly in victory over the Shadow. It was Isis who caused that Garudyne spell, and knowing that made the outcome of the operation very surprising.

Yukari, even though she was still unconscious in Minato's arms, was the one who saved them. Seeing Isis right there and then could only mean one thing; she had finally accepted her Shadow, and that signified none other than the end of her suffering. Of course, all that was left to do was to finally put the Shadow's remaining physical body to rest.

After a while of picking themselves up, everyone approached the centre to gather round Minato and Yukari for moral support. Minato turned his head to see everyone and when they looked at his expression, he seemed just as relieved as they all were.

"Still know how to make a scene, huh?" Akihiko said, out of breath and grinning as he asked. Minato didn't have it in him to answer; for the last few minutes, he had been going through all sorts of emotions, and it had taken a toll on him. All he could muster was an exhale of breath, as if a large weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

Everyone then turned their attention to Yukari who was surprisingly holding her own Shadow's hand as it laid there, covered in white noise and utterly broken. It was as if Yukari was semi-conscious and somewhat aware that her Shadow was right there at her side, although she didn't notice Minato or the people around her. Her head turned slightly to face the Shadow.

"You are me… You're everything I didn't want anyone to see, but… you are me…" Yukari said with a weak, husky tone, "… What kind of a person am I…? I've been… so selfish. Putting down the people I love the most just so I could feel better… Focusing so much time on the person I lost than on the people I still have… How could a person do that? How could _I _do that…?"

Hearing Yukari saying this to her other, 'true' self was truly heartbreaking, and even her Shadow was reacting to her words; as Yukari spoke, the Shadow used a second hand to cover the one it was already holding, and sobbed softly as it did, as if it was glad to finally be understood and accepted.

She continued, "But now I see… I've been living a better life in a dream than I have done in the real world… But then… the dream… it was really killing me. That stops now though… The choice for me to move forward has always been there, and now… it's time to take it. No more running away."

Although she was choked up, everyone could hear it in her voice that was she was saying was completely genuine. The truth in her tone was so real that no one even dared to question it; they were that hopeful for Yukari, and they knew that from this moment onward, things will only get better for her. No more suffering, no more wishing – just one goal, and that was to be stronger than ever before. After this, she would be more than capable.

With one last gracious look, the Shadow's head slowly fell to the ground and its golden eyes slowly shut forever. Its last exhale signified its demise as it gave itself in to the white noise that engulfed it in a cloak of light. Its body began to break up into small pixels and shining particles that then rose up towards Isis. With every speck of light coming into contact, the Persona absorbed it, sapping the Shadow's last bit of power so that it could finally be complete.

Eventually, Isis returned to Yukari's psyche. And with that, her Shadow, her mental anguish – all of it – was no more. All that remained was peace and a new resolve for Yukari. Although she still never woke, the course was now set for her recovery now that the worst was over.

"We… We did it." Minato said, standing up with Yukari safe and sound in his arms. They could all hear the happiness in the tone of his voice; something even S.E.E.S seldom hear. Yu came up from behind him and placed a congratulating hand on his shoulder.

"_You _did it." he said in response, correcting Minato with a friendly smile on his face.

"Yayyy, Mina-san!" Teddie cried out in celebration, knowing that now was the appropriate time to call him by his new nickname, "Oh, I'm so glad! Yukari-chan is going to be A-okay!"

"Geez, I was so worried!" Chie cried out to Minato, "But wow, are you normally that daring?! I think I just found my mentor…"

"That's the Minato we know." Mitsuru said, grinning as she remembered that spirit in him.

The whole group could compliment him forever, but Minato knew as well as everyone with him that the Shadow's demise was entirely down to Yukari. Her own choice to face the inner conflict and her own resolve saved her life. One thing was for sure though; they could all return to the real world knowing that once she wakes up, they would find the old Yukari again – that same, youthful, beautiful and life-loving person that they used to know.

Under that Shadow, they've finally found her at last; that was the victory they were looking for. All they could do now was wait for her to finally open those eyes with a new lease of life and take on the strength that she has now found. Minato wished for nothing more than that, and he would soon see it come true.

**AND THERE WE GO! That was the fiftieth chapter for you! It was really strange writing this one, mainly because I started this in the winter – it's now summer! Mad, huh? Anyway guys, I'm sorry once again that I haven't been publishing all that often – I would quicken up the pace if I could, but I'm in my twenties now and loads of things are coming at me right, left and centre! I'll do my best, but please be patient. Thank you so much for reading this chapter guys – I hope it was a nice way of celebrating the fiftieth chapter! Keep reading and reviewing, and I shall hopefully see you soon for Chapter Fifty-One! CYA!**


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